Forgotten
by littlebitclever
Summary: Hey, you. I'm sure you're looking at this story, considering clicking to read or not. I'd say it's pretty good. That sounds self-centered but...whatever. Have a regular summary. Fine. A plot is brewing in Camp Jupiter, and soon, Annabeth and Percy become targets. Their memories are wiped, and they don't know who they are, let alone each other. Before MOA.
1. Prologue: Cave

**Hello, hello, hello!**

**THIS IS A SEQUEL TO THE FIRST STORY, MISSING. Although you don't have to read Missing first, it'd be nice :)**

**Now that we've got that out of the way:**

***insert trumpet fanfare here***

**Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the exciting sequel to the hit story, Missing! Your author, littlebitclever, invites you to sit back, relax, and enjoy the prologue! Put up your feet and drink some soda or V8! Let the fanfiction begin!**

***crowd cheering***

The boy entered a murky tunnel, robes swishing against his legs. He was nervous to meet his patron, but he made sure his face didn't show it.

Gripping his knife tightly in his hands, he peeked around a corner, making sure no monsters were in sight. Letting out a sigh of relief, he took one step before being shoved against a wall.

A vice-like hand gripped his shoulder with surprising strength. He struggled against it, but the squirming made it tighter. Shadows obscured its face, so the boy could not see what it was.

"Where do you think _you're _going?" a voice hissed. It's hot breath smelled disgusting, and the boy resisted his gag reflex.

"I-I-"

"Spit it out, boy."

He swallowed the lump in his throat.

"I-I'm here to meet my patron."

"You?" The thing threw back its head and laughed. "Why would she want someone with the likes of you?"

Anger flashed through the boy. All his life he'd been underestimated because of his appearance. Too long had he stood for it. Too long had he put up with the ridiculing and the judging. He was done. The patron saw his worth, more than anyone else ever had.

The thing hadn't pinned down his hand with the knife. With incredible speed, he slashed the knife upwards, piercing the thing straight through heart.

The hand jumped away from his shoulder, clutching its chest, and the thing toppled backwards, crumbling to dust.

Straightening his robe, a smirk on his face, and confidence built, he continued onward, leaving behind a pile of sand.

Soon, he approached an old rusted door. Two figures swathed in shadow flanked the door.

"What business do you have here?" the first whispered.

Tightening his hold on his knife, he said, "My patron has summoned me."

The second chuckled. "Let's hope you are right."

The door swung silently inward, and the boy walked purposefully in between the figures. They turned their heads, silently watching him before the door shut behind him.

The room was entirely empty besides torches flickering on the slimy walls.

The boy stood there, patiently waiting.

Dirt churned and bubbled, and soon there was a face of a sleeping woman engraven in the stone floor.

_You have come_.

Pushing aside his nervousness, he asked, "What would you have me do?"

A sigh whispered through his mind. _The boy, Perseus Jackson, is coming ever nearer to destroying me and my plan. I need you to...delay him, so I can carry out restoring the giants._

"How will I accomplish this?"

_You need to break him. Put him in a position that hurts the most._

The stone bubbled once more, and a small vial appeared at the boy's feet. He bent and picked it up. Inside the vial was a milky substance.

"Lethe?"

_Think, boy! I believe you know what to do with it._

He stared at the vial, mind churning. Suddenly, it dawned on him.

"I understand," he said, a small smile appearing on his face.

_Go, now. And please, while you're leaving, refrain from killing my sentries._

He smirked and did a small bow.

"You will not be disappointed."

**Wow. How's that for kicking of the second in a series? That was super fun to write. I can't wait for you guys to get into the story! I feel like I've developed this story a bit more, and I know where I'm going with it. In Missing, I just basically improv-ed the whole thing and went with it. The first chapter should be up soon. I've already written it, so it may come up today or tomorrow. Thanks guys!**

**~littlebitclever**


	2. Chapter 1: Ship

**Here is the first official chapter of Forgotten. Enjoy! It's extra long, too :)**

Percy PoV

"Percy!" Tyson bounded towards me, Ella fluttering behind him, a scroll in her talons. I waved. When they reached me, Frank, and Hazel, Ella swooped over and dropped the scroll in my lap. She landed on top of the fountain.

"Special delivery," Ella said. "From an aura. A wind spirit. Yes, Ella got a special delivery."

I picked up the parchment, turning it over in my hands. It was tied together with an orange ribbon.

"Good morning, brothers! The scroll is from Leo. He is funny and small," Tyson said, picking at the peanut butter in his teeth.

Knitting my eyebrows together, I pulled at the ribbon and the parchment fell open on my lap. Frank and Hazel peered over my shoulder to see what was on it. Suddenly, the parchment flickered and a video popped up. I almost dropped the parchment in surprise. A kid appeared on screen, grinning. He had curly hair and wild eyes, like he just had several cups of coffee.

Hazel clapped a hand to her mouth, squeaking in fright.

"What?" Frank asked, looking concerned. "What's wrong?"

I suddenly realized where I had seen the kid before. I'd seen him in an old photo in Hazel's shack. He looked exactly like-

"Hey!" the kid shouted. "Greetings from your friends at Camp Half-Blood, et cetera." My heart started thundering in my chest. Camp Half-Blood..._Annabeth_. "This is Leo. I'm the..." He turned his head, yelling to someone in the background: "What's my title? Am I like admiral, or captain, or-"

"Repair boy," a girl yelled back.

He looked back, scowling. "Very funny, Piper. So yeah, I'm...ah...supreme commander of the _Argo II_! Yeah, I like that! Anyway, we're gonna be sailing toward you in about, I dunno, an hour in this big mother warship. We'd appreciate it if you'd not, like, blow us out of the sky or anything. So okay! If you could tell the Romans that. See you soon. Yours in demigodishness, and all that. Peace out."

The parchment flickered once and the video shrank away. I picked up the parchment, looking behind it to see if there was anything else. On the back, _Argo II_ was stamped in bold letters, but that was it.

"It can't be," Hazel muttered into her hand.

"What?' Frank asked. "You know that guy?"

Hazel was pale. The photo in the abandoned shack came to mind, Sammy grinning at the camera. Hazel's old boyfriend. He looked exactly like Leo.

"It's Sammy Valdez," Hazel whispered. "But how...how-"

"It can't be," I said. "That guy's name is Leo. And it's been seventy-something years. It has to be a..."

I was about to say _coincidence_, but I'd seen too many crazy things. Fate, prophecies, monsters...and none of that was a coincidence.

Frank looked like he was about to say something, but he was interrupted by horns blowing in the distance. I saw people marching toward the senate building, Reyna in the lead, Octavian sauntering behind her. Dread filled my stomach.

"It's meeting time," I said, getting a nervous feeling. "Come on. We've got to warn them about the warship."

* * *

Annabeth PoV

I paced the ship, heart pounding. I'd triple checked that the white flag of truce was flying high, and gone over all of our backup plans, made sure the shields were intact, and that Leo was not getting distracted.

He was running around the deck, checking ropes and levers, Wii remotes swinging from his wrists.

"Lower your weapons," Piper was muttering to herself, practicing her lines. "We just want to talk." Her charmspeak washed over me, but my nervousness shook it off, my hand jumping from the railing to my knife repeatedly.

I glanced over to Jason. He was standing by the mast, wearing a Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, but also wearing a purple cloak to show his position as praetor.

A flash of doubt went through me. Jason was good-looking, a great fighter, and always did the right thing. What if this whole thing was a set up? What if Camp Jupiter knew about Camp Half-Blood and they sent him over to goad us into capture?

I shook off the feeling, but couldn't get rid of the bitter taste in my mouth. Thinking about Jason made my thoughts flash to Percy.

Percy...who was underneath us - _me_ - right now.

_Oh, gods._ Panic thrust its way into my chest, clawing at my stomach.

_No, no. I'm a child of Athena. I have to stick to my plan and not get distracted._

But the panic still stayed. I almost walked over to Leo to change course right then, but suddenly horns erupted from the ground. The Romans had spotted us.

* * *

Percy

A messenger rushed inside the Senate house, interrupting Octavian and his stupid speech.

"Praetors! I'm sorry to interrupt, but our scouts report-"

"Ship!" Tyson said happily, pointing to the hole in the ceiling. "Yay!"

I looked up, and saw an enormous ship float into view.

_That is a freaking mother warship. Leo wasn't kidding_.

Bronze shields glinted along the sides, with the figurehead of a massive dragon head. A big white flag of truce whipped in the breeze.

It was the most incredible thing I'd ever seen.

"Praetors!" the messenger said. "What are your orders?"

Octavian shot to his feet, fists trembling with rage. I raised an eyebrow.

"You need ask?" He brandished his teddy bear by the neck. "The omens are _horrible_! This is a trick, a deception! Beware Greeks bearing gifts!"

He strode over to me and jabbed a finger at my chest, trying to push me back. I held my ground, just looking at him.

"His _friends_-" he spat the word "-are attacking in a warship. He has _led_ them here. We must attack!"

"No," I said firmly, shoving his finger off of me. "You all raised me as praetor for a reason. I will fight to defend this camp with my life. But these aren't enemies. I say we stand ready, but do _not_ attack. Let them land. Let them speak. If it is a trick, then I will fight with you, as I did last night. But it is _not_ a trick."

Everyone looked to Reyna, whose expression hardened.

* * *

Annabeth

My eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. The view was amazing. The valley opened up to reveal a city nearly twice the size of Camp Half-Blood. A river snaked through the valley, finally emptying in a sparkling lake.

I recognized some of the buildings and landmarks that Jason told me about - the hippodrome, the temples, the parks.

Some of the buildings were destroyed from a battle against monsters. Domes were cracked and a plaza was filled with craters.

Suddenly, dozens of kids spilled out of the Senate building. Others emerged from shops, gawking at the ship.

I started feeling self-conscious. Why did Leo have to build such a monstrous thing? Why couldn't it have been a sailboat or something?

Shoving the feeling aside, I scanned the gathering crowd for black hair, hoping to find Percy.

Suddenly, I was nearly thrown overboard by a huge explosion.

* * *

Percy

"Hold your fire!" Reyna yelled. "But have a legion stand ready. Percy Jackson is your duly chosen praetor. We will trust his word - unless we are given clear reason not to. Senators, let us adjourn to the forum and meet our...new friends."

The people in the Senate building stampeded out of the room, fighting to pass one another to get a view of the massive ship.

Relief flooded me. For a minute there, I thought that she was going to take down the warship herself. Looking up at the nearing boat, I started feeling a bit nervous.

I knew that Annabeth was on it. She was probably looking for me right now in the crowd. I hoped to see her before she saw me.

Reyna materialized beside me.

"I support you, Percy. I trust your judgement. But for all our sakes, I hope we can keep the peace between our campers and your Greek friends."

"We will," I promised. "You'll see."

She looked up, a wistful expression crossing her face. "You say Jason is aboard...I hope that's true. I've missed him."

She walked outside, leaving me, Frank and Hazel alone in the room.

"They're coming down right in the forum," Frank said, walking towards me. "Terminus is going to have a heart attack."

"Percy," Hazel said, looking nervous, "you swore on your life. Romans take that seriously. If anything goes wrong, even by accident, Octavian is going to kill you. You know that, right?"

I smiled. I knew that the stakes were high. I knew that, with my luck, this day could go horribly wrong. But I also knew that Annabeth was on that ship.

I swung one arm around Hazel and one arm around Frank.

"Come on. Let me introduce you to my _other_ family."

* * *

Annabeth

"Unacceptable!" the statue shrieked.

I stumbled backwards, almost toppling over the railing again. The smoking statue came out of nowhere, and he looked mad.

"I will _not_ have weapons inside the Pomerian Line!" he shouted fussily. "And I _certainly_ will not have Greeks!"

Jason shot me a look that said _I've got this_.

"Terminus," he said. "It's me. Jason Grace."

"Oh, I remember _you_, Jason!" the statue yelled. "I thought you had better sense than to consort with the enemies of Rome!"

"But they're not enemies-"

"That's right," Piper interrupted "We just want to talk. If we could-"

"Ha!" Terminus snapped. "Don't try charmspeak on _me_, young lady. And put down that dagger before I slap it out of your hands!"

Piper looked confused. She glanced down at her dagger. "Um...okay. But how would you slap it? You don't have any arms."

"Impertinence!" There was a _CRACK_. Piper yelped and dropped the now smoking dagger.

This statue needed to get to some Anger Management classes or something.

"Lucky for you, I've just been through a battle," Terminus said. "If I were at full strength, I would have blasted this flying monstrosity out of the sky already!"

"Hold up." Leo stepped forward, looking offended. "Did you just call my ship a monstrosity? I _know_ you didn't do that." He waved a Wii remote in Terminus' face for emphasis.

I snapped out of my shock. "Let's all calm down," I said, not feeling calm at all. "I take it you're Terminus, the god of boundaries. Jason told me you protect the city of New Rome, right? I'm Annabeth Chase, daughter of-"

"Oh, I know who _you_ are! A child of _Athena_, Minerva's Greek form. Scandalous! You Greeks have no sense of decency. We Romans now the proper place for _that_ goddess."

I clenched my teeth together. "What exactly do you mean, _that_ goddess? And what's so scandalous about-"

"Right!" Jason interrupted. "Anyway, Terminus, we're here on a mission of peace. We'd love permission to land so we can-"

"Impossible!" the statue said indignantly. "Lay down your weapons and surrender! Leave my city immediately!

"Which is it?" Leo asked. "Surrender or leave?"

I slapped myself mentally on the forehead. Leo was just riling up the statue.

"Both! Surrender, then leave. I am slapping your face for asking such a stupid question, you ridiculous boy! Do you feel that?"

I glanced at Jason, who just shrugged his shoulders.

"Wow. You're wound up pretty tight. You got any gears in there that need loosening? I could take a look." Leo put the Wii remote in his toolbelt in exchange for a screwdriver.

Terminus blasted the screwdriver out of Leo's hands. "Stop that! Weapons are _not_ allowed on Roman soil inside the Pomerian Line."

"The what?" Piper asked.

"City limits," Jason replied.

"And this entire ship is a weapon! You _cannot_ land!"

Ignoring the statue and his stubbornness, I looked out into the crowd again. The crowd had almost completely gathered. I scanned the nearing faces and...oh, gods. He was right there. He was walking towards the ship with his arms around two kids - a stout boy with a black buzz cut, and a girl wearing a Roman cavalry helmet. He wore a purple cape just like Jason's - the mark of a praetor.

My heart performed a gymnastics routine.

* * *

Percy

I pushed my way through the crowd, dragging Hazel and Frank with me. The ship was close, and I could start seeing individual people on board.

"Wow..." Frank whispered.

"It's amazing," I agreed.

A flash of blonde hair.

I stopped walking. Frank and Hazel ran into me, but I barely felt it. My heart started to pound insanely in my chest, like it was running its own marathon.

"Percy? What's wrong?" Hazel asked.

I said something really smart like, "Ah...duh, uh." I shook my head to clear my thoughts, which were like they had been mixed up in a blender.

"I see her."

**Huzzah! What'd you guys think? Love it, hate it? Leave me a review and tell me what you think!**

**Small apology: I don't know if Percy is IC or not, because I haven't really done anything from his point of view, and I just connect to Annabeth a bit better. So I'm sorry if he doesn't seem spot on to you.**

**I really like this chapter a lot because it switches back to what happens between Annabeth on the ship and Percy on the ground. A very special "omigosh ur awesome!" to Rick Riordan for just making an incredible series, and for writing SoN and MoA, which are used in this chapter.**

**Thanks guys for all the support on Missing (104 REVIEWS), and the first five reviews I've gotten on the prologue! I seriously can't wait for this story to develop.**

**I'm so essited :)**

**OKAY BYE.**

**~littlebitclever**


	3. Chapter 2: Ambush

**I'm just going to let you read right now.**

Annabeth

My heart was pounding out of my chest, like it was trying to jump out to him. He was right there, _right there._

Oh, my gods. He looked up, and was gazing right at me.

"Leo, stop the ship," I said, my voice slightly cracking.

"What?"

"You heard me. Keep us right where we are."

Leo grabbed his controller and yanked up. The boat shuddered, and the oars stopped rowing air. The ship abruptly stopped sinking.

"Terminus," I said, trying to keep my voice level, "there's no rule against hovering _over _New Rome, is there?"

The statue frowned. "Well, no..."

"We can keep the ship aloft," I said, using all my self control not to stare at Percy. "We'll use a rope ladder to reach the forum. That way, the ship won't be on Roman soil. Not technically."

Terminus dramatically pondered this, and I wondered if he was scratching his chin with imaginary hands.

"I like technicalities," he admitted. "Still..."

"All our weapons will stay aboard the ship," I promised him. "I assume the Romans - even those reinforcements marching toward us - will also have to honor your rules inside the Pomerian Line if you tell them to?"

"Of course!" Terminus said, puffing up what he had of a chest. "Do I look like I tolerate rule breakers?"

"Uh, Annabeth..." Leo said. "You sure this is a good idea?"

I closed my fists to keep my hands from shaking. A bitter cold feeling washed over me, like someone knew I was making a bad choice. But Percy...he was so close. I _had _to reach him.

"It'll be fine," I said. "No one will be armed. We can talk in peace. Terminus will make sure each side obeys the rules." I looked at him. "Do we have an agreement?"

Terminus sniffed. "I suppose. For now. You may climb down your ladder to New Rome, daughter of Athena. _Please_try not to destroy my town."

* * *

Percy

I saw Annabeth fly backwards and smack the railing and I tensed, ready to jump forward and catch her. She stumbled and caught herself on the railing, and my heart was screaming for her.

"Oh, gods, what's happening?" I muttered.

"What?" Frank asked.

"Nothing."

Terminus suddenly appeared on the deck, and I saw Annabeth negotiating with him. She turned away from him, and looked over the railing, scanning the crowd.

She saw me.

I was frozen to the spot. I had no idea what to do.

She paled, staring at me, longing etched completely her face. Something called her attention, and after a few more seconds of just drinking in her presence, she turned away.

I almost let out a moan.

A comforting arm went around my shoulder. "Percy, are you alright? You look...strange." The voice sounded like it was at the end of a tunnel, and I had no idea who was talking to me.

"Annabeth," I moaned.

"I think he should sit down," a worried voice said.

I felt hands try to push me down, but I resisted. "No. No, I need to see her."

All of the months of confusion and my bitterness towards it was completely washed away the moment I saw her face. When I saw her again, I felt whole.

A rope ladder was flung over the edge of the boat and it dangled in the wind. Annabeth poked her head over the side and looked at me. She then turned around and almost slid down the ladder she was descending so fast. When her feet touched the ground, I surged forward numbly, my arms open.

"Annabeth," I whispered.

Tears streamed down my face, and I could hear people screaming my name, but I ignored them.

But, before Annabeth could turn around, before she could fully look at me, something slammed into me from behind.

I collapsed to the ground, stunned. Realizing what was happening to me, I began struggling with all my strength.

"No! _No_!" I was screaming, begging for someone to see me. I couldn't see who my attacker was, and no one turned to help.

So close, I had been so close.

"Percy?" I heard a distant voice cry.

Before I could respond, something hit me on the head, and my vision went black.

* * *

Annabeth

I looked over the side of the boat, and saw Percy staring at me, his mouth open, eyes shining.

Tears came to me eyes, and I ran forward and yanked the rope ladder from Leo.

"Hey!" he said indignantly, but I didn't care.

I threw it over the side, and looked over to Percy again. The two kids were trying to talk to him, but he ignored them. He looked frozen to the spot. And then he started to move towards me.

I climbed down the ladder as fast as I could, crying freely.

Just as my feet touched the ground, I heard a boy screaming.

"No! _No_!"

Whipping around, a crowd just stared at me wordlessly. I didn't see Percy anywhere. He was gone, vanished.

"Percy?" I cried.

Nothing.

_No! Where is he? He was right there!_

I lurched forward, shoving my way through the staring crowd, tears flowing down my face. How could this happen? What happened to him?

Suddenly, a panicked voice ripped through the silence.

"Annabeth! Look out! It's a tr-" It choked off.

I turned around just in time to see the end of a spear come flying towards my head.

**Please don't kill me! I won't let a cliffhanger like this destroy you! I'll update as soon as I can, I promise. Everything will be explained soon.**

**Ugh, I'm just so mad right now. I love writing stuff like this, but it still makes me mad how the events turn out. This, my dear readers, is an English Grammar term called _tone_. Little lesson for you.**

**Okay, I'm leaving now.**

**Bye.**

**~littlebitclever**

**I almost forgot. Cover art credit goes to burdge-bug of DeviantART. The piece is called Hazy. She is also credited for doing the art for the cover, Missing. That one's called Get Up.**


	4. Chapter 3: Caught

**I recommend listening to the song 'We Move Lightly' by Dustin O'Halloran. If you look up the song on Youtube, and then in the address type 'repeat' before the Youtube address, it will take you to a different site where the song plays on repeat.**

**I have a link on my profile if you're having trouble.**

**Do you have the song playing? Okay, you can read now.**

Percy

Mold. It was the first thing I smelled before I came to. Groaning, I ran a hand through my hair and jerked in pain when my fingers hit a massive goose egg on my head. I sat up, blinking in the low light.

"Where am I?" I moaned.

Turning my head gingerly because of an aching neck, I saw that I was in a cell. A small one. A disgusting slime coated the walls, and a torch was blazing outside the bars of the cell.

I strained my thoughts about what had happened to me, and how the heck I got here.

It all came back to me in a flood. The ship, Annabeth, being attacked from behind.

Anger surged through me and my hand jerked to my pocket, searching for Riptide so I could hack my way out of here and then kill the person who put me in this stupid cell.

There was nothing there.

I was confused for a minute, but then realized that meant I was still behind the Pomerian Line. At least I knew where I was. Generally.

I leaned against the pile of straw in the corner, thinking hard. Who would have done this? Why? Octavian was the first person to pop in my head. He seemed like the most obvious person to have done this. He hated my guts, hated the Greeks. He had a good reason - for him - to freaking kidnap me and put me in a stupid cell. But then, that could be a reason why he didn't. Because he was too obvious. He wouldn't want to put himself that much into the open, would he?

Shaking my head, I tried to think of someone else who could have done it. I felt slightly ashamed thinking about this, but it could have been Reyna. She was hesitant to let my friends in. Maybe she changed her mind, went crazy, and decided to knock me out. She said she trusted me, but she could have been lying.

That spurred on another thought, which filled me with dread. What happened to everyone else? What happened to Annabeth? Where were they? Were they safe?

I shot to my feet, feeling mad again. I let out a yell and kicked at the wall, which made me yell even louder. My life was unfair. So freaking unfair. I was taken from my home, from people that I loved and dumped in a stupid burned up house with absolutely no memory. I had to make my way down to the Bay Area being chased by stupid monsters that wouldn't die. I was tired of it all. Tired that I couldn't just stop and _rest_. Why couldn't I just be at peace for a few months? Was that too much to ask?

I put my arm on the grimy wall and leaned my head against it, breathing hard. I needed to find a way to get out of here, fast. I needed to find Annabeth and make sure that she was okay.

I just stood there for a minute, trying to calm myself down. I knew I couldn't think straight if I was mad. I started to concentrate on the crackling of the torch, and I soon managed to breathe steadily. I started to pace the length of the cell. It was only about seven steps across. How to get out of here...

I gripped the cell bars and shook them. Although they looked rusted, they held firm. The hinges looked weak, but I had nothing to use to loose them. I could barely fit my arm through the spaces between, but it wouldn't do me any good if I didn't have a key, and there was no guard stationed outside the door. I had no idea if there were any guards at all.

Scrapping that idea, and coming up with nothing, I sat back down on the straw.

_Come on, Seaweed Brain, think! What would Annabeth do?_

I could almost hear her voice in my head. _A child of Athena always has a plan_.

_But I'm not a child of Athena! Your mom freaking hates me._

I mentally slapped myself in the head. I wasn't going to get anywhere if I kept arguing with myself, especially if I was pretending to be Annabeth.

I started to count my breaths. Slowly. In out. In out.

I began to time them with a steady dripping of water. One drip, breathe in. Next drip, breathe out.

A small puddle was forming in the corner of the cell, and the water continued to drip into it from an unknown source.

Water.

_Water_!

Why didn't I notice it before?

Jumping to my feet, I walked over to the corner, seeing how deep the puddle was. It was about six or seven inches deep. Peering up to the ceiling, I saw the water dripping, but still didn't know where it was coming from.

Feeling a tugging in my gut, I willed the water to come out just a bit faster. It now came out in a steady stream. Testing it a bit more, I had it come out stronger. Soon it was shooting out with the force of a fire hose.

I realized where I was - underneath the lake.

I stopped the stream all together, and I felt the pressure start building. When it was too much to bear, I let it shoot out in such a force I was almost knocked off my feet. The water shot towards the door, and infiltrated the rusty hinges. The door blasted off the doorframe into the opposite wall.

Doing a mental fist pump, I jogged lightly out of my cell, peeking around corners and checking behind me to make sure I wasn't being followed.

I turned the last corner and saw the door leading out. It was completely unguarded. Whoever put me here was an idiot.

I almost made it to the door before a rough hand grabbed my shoulder and pinned me to the wall. A sword blade was placed against my neck and barely bit into it. A trickle of blood ran down my neck and splashed on the stone ground.

Octavian.

I cursed in Greek.

"Well, well," he said, smirking. "Look what we have here."

"Octavian," I growled. "How do you have a sword? You're past the Pomerian Line."

"I have my assets," he said, allowing the blade to dig in a bit deeper into my throat.

"What are you doing? Reyna will have your head. Or, at least, I'll give it to her when I'm finished with you."

He laughed. "How can you do something like that if you don't have a sword?"

Confidence flashed in his eyes. I took advantage.

Kicking my leg up, I smacked him in the soft spot. Squealing in pain, he dropped the sword, and I nimbly caught it by the handle, pointing it then underneath his chin.

He thrust his hands up in the air, looking terrified. I started to circle around him, and his eyes flickered from the blade to my face.

"Why don't you ever learn your lesson?" I asked tauntingly.

He gulped.

"I could say the same to you." He gave his head a little jerk.

Arms suddenly thrust under mine and almost lifted me off the ground. The person holding me smelled really bad, too. They obviously had no idea what deodorant was.

The sword clattered to the ground and Octavian picked it up, dusting it off with his toga.

"Thank you," Octavian said to the person. "You know, Percy, it's a good thing I caught you. I've been meaning to have a little...chat."

"What do you want?"

He chuckled again. He thrust his hand inside his toga, pulled out a tiny vial filled with a milky substance and shook it under my nose. "Do you know what this is?"

"Your disgusting bath water?"

Anger flashed across his face, giving me a feeling of satisfaction until the person holding me squeezed harder, making me go slightly light-headed.

"I don't appreciate your cheek, Jackson. I'll tell you what it is. It's water from the River Lethe. You know what its properties are, don't you."

I didn't say anything, not sure where this conversation was going.

"A single drop of this water could easily wipe the memory of a giant. Now, I'm going to give you an offer. Do you want Miss Chase to live, or to die?"

I stared blankly at him, but my heart was pounding.

Octavian started to pace. "I'm sure you want to see her alive. You love her, don't you?" He clicked his tongue, starting to sound business-like. "How would you feel if the contents in this vial just _slipped_ in her next meal?"

I thrashed around, trying to break free and kick Octavian in the face at the same time.

"What've you done with her?" I growled.

"Now, now, she's safe. I knew you wouldn't cooperate with her in horrible conditions. Here's the...ah, catch. I certainly don't want to do it. I don't want my hands to get dirty. That's why _you_ must do it."

"Are you insane?" I screamed. Blood was starting to flow freely from my neck.

"You must tell her you don't love her. Let that be the last thing she remembers before wiping her memory. Break her heart, or I break you even more."

"And if I don't?"

"She'll watch you die. Or, would you want to watch her die?"

"_No_!" I was screaming. "I'll get out of here! You can't kill her! You..."

"I'm afraid, Percy, that you are out of options. You will not be escaping any time soon, I can assure you. Besides, what would you do if you did escape? You have no idea where Miss Chase is being held. If you escape, she'll die all the faster. Do this, or death is just around the corner."

A tear trickled out of my eye.

"Why are you doing this?" I whispered.

He smirked, and instead of answering, pressed the vial in my hand and walked away.

**~littlebitclever**


	5. Chapter 4: Injured

**I'm not sure if this song works for this chapter, (it sure is gorgeous, though) but I have another song by Dustin O'Halloran for you to listen to while reading this chapter.**

**The song is called 'Opus 55'. Also, 'We Move Lightly' works well for this chapter, too. Search it on Youtube and type "repeat" before youtube in the URL. If you're still confused, go to the previous chapter for better instructions. I'll also post a link on my profile.**

**Let it commence.**

Annabeth

The Roman kid blindfolded me and took me down a flight of stairs. He never spoke, but jerked me around and roughly shoved me whenever I tripped. I tried to say something biting to him, but I was in complete shock. My mouth wouldn't work, so I walked down the stairs in silence.

I stumbled when I hit the bottom of the stairs, and he grabbed me and pushed me forward to keep me moving. He wound me through a maze of corridors, and the smell was horrible. Or maybe it was just from the blindfold.

My mind was spinning. Why? It was the only thing I could think. Why? Why did it happen? What did I do to be treated like this? The minute I stepped off the boat, some idiot Roman used the butt of their spear to knock me out. The next thing I knew, before I could completely get a look of things, a blindfold was shoved on my face and I was being escorted somewhere.

I remembered one thing. I heard Leo scream that it was a trap before he was choked off. What had he seen? What happened to the others?

The blindfold was yanked off my face and I was shoved inside a dank tunnel.

I fell to my knees, but I scrambled up and grabbed the kid by the shirt before he could leave. The pain forced me out of my shock.

"Where am I?" I hissed, hair falling in my face. "What have you done to them?"

He just stared at me in disgust and pried me off.

"Disgusting Greek," he spat. He pushed me and I fell on my butt.

"What have you done?" I screamed. He didn't even glance back when he walked away.

I leapt to my feet and ran after him, curse words streaming from my mouth.

A hand gently touched my shoulder. I spun around.

It was a boy, probably about a year or two older than me. He had straw colored hair and was sickly thin. His pale, lank face had a look of glee on it.

"Who are you?" I exclaimed.

His stupid grin got even wider and he gave me a mock bow. "My name is Octavian."

"Octavian," I scoffed.

"And you are Annabeth Chase."

I froze. "How do you know my name?"

He shrugged but didn't say anything.

"What do you want?" I asked suspiciously.

"Oh, I don't _want_ anything from you, but you are someone that I _need_."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I said, crossing my arms.

He just looked at me.

"Okay, you know, I'd love to stay and chat, but..."

I turned and took a step away, but suddenly felt a sword point on my back. I stiffened, fists clenching.

"Why leaving so soon?"

I didn't move, extremely aware of the sword about to dig in my skin.

"I'm afraid that you're going to have to stay here awhile until I have further use of you."

"What do you want?" I asked again, fear creeping into my voice.

"I don't want anything from you, but you are someone I need," he repeated. I could hear a smile in his voice.

"Enough with the riddles."

He ignored this. "If you would follow me."

He placed a hand on my shoulder and steered me towards a rusted door. The sword hung limply in his other hand, and I tried hard not to stare at it.

We turned corners and doubled back, and his claw-like hands gripped my shoulder hard.

Soon we arrived at a thick door with two guards flanking the sides. One of the guards opened the door and Octavian ushered me inside and walked in behind me.

Another guard suddenly pounded down down the corridor, panting.

"He's out!"

Octavian flushed an ugly color. "What do you mean, _he's out_?"

"Uh, that he's escaped?"

Octavian slapped the guy across the mouth. "Then why haven't you stopped him?" he growled.

An idea popped in my head. Making sure he wasn't looking, I checked to see if my hat was still in my pocket.

It was.

I slowly slipped it out, and as fast as I could, smashed it down on my head.

The guard jumped.

"Where'd the chick go?"

Octavian flung himself around, and his eyes swiveled around the seemingly empty cell. I pressed myself inside the corner, making myself as small as possible. He looked absolutely flabbergasted.

"Wh-what?" He rounded on the guard. "_Why did you let her escape_?"

"I-I didn't. You were yelling at me! You would have seen her leave!"

Octavian sneered and pulled out his sword. "Where'd you go?" he muttered.

He stumbled around, swinging his sword wildly. I had to duck silently several times.

I skirted around him, edging my way towards the door. The guard was standing there, dumbfounded. If I could just-

I kicked a rock.

Octavian jerked around and stared right at me.

"Got you," he murmured.

I gave up on stealth. I ran forward and flung the guard out of the way, who screamed in fright. I pounded down the hallway, not knowing where I was going, Octavian right behind me. I suddenly stopped and pressed myself against a wall. Right when he ran by, I stuck my foot out. He tripped and sprawled on the ground.

He got up and spit hair out of his face, sword pointed out. I tried to muffle my breathing with my hand.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are."

_Ha, not likely_, I thought.

He suddenly cocked his head, as if listening to someone. Then, without warning, he surged forward, swinging his sword right at me. The blade swiped me across the forehead, and although the cut was extremely shallow, I gasped in pain.

He swung the butt of the sword and got me in the stomach. My breath came out in a _whoosh_ and I sank to the floor, my hat slipping off my head. I flickered into view.

Before he could fully see it, I managed to hide the hat behind my back so I was leaning against it. I then slipped it back in my pocket. He was distracted because he dropped the sword once he hit me with it. Idiot.

He straightened up. "What an impressive vanishing act, Annabeth. I'm afraid your attempts at escape are futile."

Blood fell into my eyes and I tried blinking it out. I didn't say anything.

He crouched down so we were eye level. "A shame to ruin such a pretty face," he said, lifting my head with a finger under my chin. I spat at him.

He recoiled, wiping his hand against his toga. He looked furious.

"Enough of this."

He roughly grabbed my hair and pulled me up. It took all my self-control not to cry out. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.

He practically dragged me back to the cell and threw me inside. I fell to my knees, head throbbing in pain, and tried to straighten, but I was still winded.

"You're lucky I didn't damage you any further," Octavian said before leaving. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to meet another prisoner." He swept out of the cell, the door banging shut behind him.

**For a little background, the songs that you an listen to while reading are the songs that _I_ listen to while writing the chapter. The mood of the songs really affects how I write and how the chapter turns out.**

**I already have the song picked out for the next chapter, and I'm really excited!**

**Also, I realize that this story is much darker compared to Missing. The idea for Forgotten just suddenly hit me, and I knew that it wouldn't be as light-hearted as Missing was.**

**Please leave me a review and tell me what you think! I want to know how you feel and your opinion on what's happening. Percy and Annabeth separated, the Lethe, Octavian. Let me know!**

**Until next time!**

**OKAY BYE.**

**~littlebitclever**


	6. Chapter 5: Broken

**Please listen to this song while reading this chapter.**

**The song is called 'Stranger' by Katie Costello. Put it on repeat.**

**I'm serious. Listen to the song. It helps pull the whole mood together.**

**Also, please drop me a review about what you think. I've noticed a drop in reviews. I'm glad that I'm able to get some, maybe two per chapter, but I've been getting a lot of Author and Story Alerts (which I'm thankful for! Thanks, guys!), but hardly any reviews. Tell me what you think!**

**Let it commence.**

Percy

I sat in my cell, knees pulled up to my chest. My head was in between my legs, and my arms were wrapped around them.

I didn't know how long I sat in my cell. It could have been several days. I tried thinking of every possible way to not give Annabeth the Lethe. But Octavian was right. I had no idea where Annabeth was being held.

I thought about dumping the Lethe out, but then Octavian would know and Annabeth would be killed.

They had put me in a new cell, and there was no water dripping in this one.

I was completely hopeless. I had just accepted the inevitable. Annabeth was going to lose her memory. I was defeated.

The vial of Lethe disgusted me. I had put in a corner, as far away from me as possible. The sight of it made me feel sick.

I suddenly lifted my head. An idea had just struck me. While digging through the cell earlier, I had found an old piece of parchment and a pen. It was hidden underneath the pile of straw, and there was a simple note on it:

_For those that need it_.

It was left behind by the person before me from however long ago.

I glanced at the Lethe. For some reason, I had a feeling that soon I would be getting a taste of the Lethe, too. Octavian had looked too smug when I had agreed, and the more I thought about it, the more obvious it was.

Annabeth and I were going to forget each other. Forget everything. Except, I had the harder part. I had to tell her I didn't love her anymore before wiping her memory.

I remembered what Annabeth had told me when we were building the Hypnos cabin. The branch dipped in Lethe was sitting on the mantelpiece. I had stared at it, and Annabeth told me that it was the symbol of Hypnos.

I was jolted from the memory by footsteps coming down the hallway.

Diving across the cell, I grabbed the parchment and the pen. I started to scribble circles in the corner until the pen worked. I then quickly scrawled a short message on the parchment and stuffed it in my pocket.

I then put my head in my hands, praying to any god that would listen.

_Please. Help me. Let this work._

The door squeaked open and I heard someone walk in the cell. I didn't look up.

"Well, well. Looks like the famous Jackson is finally speechless."

I refused to answer. I heard Octavian crouch down in front of me.

"I've finally broken you. You know that, right? Understand that if you don't do as I've said, you'll both die," he whispered.

I didn't respond. He sat there for a minute before getting up.

"Take him to the other prisoner."

I felt guards come over and put their hands under my arms, hoisting me up. I remained limp, trying to cause as much annoyance as possible.

"Ah, ah." Octavian walked over to the corner where I'd hidden the Lethe. "You don't want to _forget_ this." He pressed it in my hand. I almost groaned with the stupidness of the pun.

We walked through several corridors, and stopped in front of the same door I'd almost escaped through.

A blindfold was shoved over my eyes, and I was led away from my prison.

The sunlight was blinding, even with the blindfold on. I stumbled over rocks and a cobblestone pathway. The strangest part was that the outside was completely silent. I could hear no birds and no demigods talking. The quietness pressed on my ears. It was eerie.

Soon I was descending a staircase. The steps seemed to go on forever, and I tripped when we hit the bottom.

I was extremely aware of the note in my pocket. I prayed that they wouldn't search me when I'd get to Annabeth.

The blindfold was removed, and I was again lead through more corridors and tunnels. Torches lined the walls and they flickered menacingly.

We arrived in front of a thick door with two guards on either side. My heart was racing. I had no idea what to say to her, what to do. I just hoped that the note would work and explain everything.

"Open the door," Octavian ordered. One of the guards sprang to life and swung the door open.

The inside of the cell was almost completely dark. I could see a silhouette of Annabeth sitting in the corner, her back turned.

"You have a visitor, Miss Chase," Octavian said. She didn't move. He came behind me. "Do it," he whispered. "Convince me. If not..." He let the threat hang. "I'll be watching."

He shoved me in, and I stumbled and fell to the ground. The door smashed shut and the only light came from a small barred window at the top of the cell.

I groaned, and Annabeth finally turned.

Her face looked shocked when she saw me. My heart clenched painfully when I saw dried blood in her hair and on her forehead. She had several bruises on her cheeks. I almost started to cry. My heart was shouting at me, telling me not to do this. _Tell her that you love her!_

"Percy," she whispered. "Why? How-"

She crawled forward, her eyes shining. I lay there, not knowing what to do. I closed my eyes, hoping the tears wouldn't fall. I felt her rough hand caress my cheek, and my skin tingled underneath.

I suddenly felt her lips on mine, and it took all of my self-control not to kiss her back. I was frozen, an internal battle going on between my mind and my heart.

_Do it_, I heard Octavian's voice say.

"Percy, are you alright? What did they do to you?" I felt a finger wipe a tear away from my eye. Apparently closing my eyes didn't stop the tears from falling.

I opened my eyes and saw her leaning over me, fear on her face.

_They'll kill her._

I grabbed her wrist and pushed it away from me. I sat up, and she moved away.

"Annabeth."

_Convince me._

I hardened my face, trying to look disgusted. My heart was ripping.

"Percy, what's-"

"Don't talk to me."

Shock flickered across her face, and she looked hurt. Tears sprang to her eyes.

"I don't under-"

"I'm done, Annabeth. We're done. I don't-" I faltered, swallowing the lump in my throat.

_Convince me._

I glared at her, praying this would save her life. "I don't love you anymore."

My heart broke in two.

I was broken.

**I almost cried while writing.**

**~littlebitclever**


	7. Chapter 6: Betrayed

**Do you guys like it when I accompany chapters with songs? Let me know!**

**The song for this chapter is 'Opus 37' by Dustin O'Halloran. I know I've been using him for almost every chapter. He just has a lot of great piano solos, and I'm totally in love with his work. It's almost like he's composing the songs specifically for the chapters. He's amazing.**

**As usual, check my profile for the song if you need help.**

**And thanks to the people who reviewed and put this story in their Favorites/Subscription list! I'm sorry if it sounded like I was complaining in the other chapter about the reviews :/**

Annabeth

I sat with my back to the door. I was starting to get scared. Everything had happened so fast.

My wound on my forehead had dried up, and blood crusted my hair. I had fought back the urge to cry several times. First when Octavian left me in the cell by myself and my forehead throbbed in pain, and the other a couple hours ago.

I'm sure I looked like a mess. Bruises were already blooming on my stomach where the butt of the sword got me, and I'm sure I smelled even worse.

I suddenly heard footsteps and voices carrying outside in the hallway.

"Open the door," a voice ordered. The door swung open, but I didn't move.

"You have a visitor, Miss Chase," Octavian said.

I refused to turn around. I was sure he was going to bait me. I heard him whispering something, and then a body fell to the ground beside me. The door banged shut.

The person groaned. He sounded familiar.

I turned around and saw Percy.

_Percy. _Here. In my cell.

I was shocked. Why would they put him in my cell? They should've kept us apart.

"Percy," I whispered. "Why? How-"

His eyes flickered towards me, and he looked upset. Relief didn't cross his face. He looked...scared.

I crawled towards him, not caring. He closed his eyes, but his head still faced me.

The back of my hand traced his jawline and I saw goosebumps erupt on his arms.

_He's here. He's really here._

I surged forward and kissed him. Kissed him with all I had. I hadn't seen him in six months, and he was here. Right here.

He didn't move underneath me, and something wet touched my cheek.

I pulled back, and saw tears spilling out from underneath his eyelids. I wiped one away with my finger.

"Percy, are you alright? What did they do to you?" I whispered. I was scared. Why wasn't he doing anything? Did they hurt him?

He opened his eyes and they looked glazed over. They suddenly hardened.

He grabbed my wrist, pushed it away and sat up. Shocked, I moved away from him. What was he doing?

"Annabeth." His face looked disgusted, like he was repulsed by me. I didn't know what to do.

"Percy, what's-"

"Don't talk to me," he spat.

I froze. He'd never talked to me like this. Tears came to my eyes and they started to fall down my cheeks.

"I don't under-"

"I'm done, Annabeth. We're done. I don't..." He stopped, and for a minute, it looked like he was about to start crying again. It quickly vanished.

"I don't love you anymore." He practically shoved the words in my face.

I was paralyzed. Completely welded to the spot. I didn't breathe. I didn't move. Tears were definitely spilling now.

He glared at me. My heart broke.

My shock was replaced by anger. An anger so strong it boiled up and threatened to spill. I was ashamed that I was crying in front of him. I wiped at my eyes and stood up, seeing red.

"What? _What_?" I shrieked. "You don't _love_ me anymore. So you can just turn it off, like that? Decide that you don't _love_ me anymore? What happened to all the things we've done together? Are they just gone, too? Pretend like they never happened?"

I stormed toward him, but he just looked at me, anger on his face.

I hit him. Hit him hard.

He gasped and touched his cheek. It was already turning pink.

He jumped to his feet.

"You heard me, Annabeth. We're done. I'm through. It's over."

I pushed him, and he fell against the wall.

"I don't believe you."

I slammed myself against the door.

"Octavian! _Octavian_! You've had your fun! You've ruined me! _You've ruined me_," I screamed. "Let. Me. OUT." I pounded the door with each word. Tears started to fall down my cheeks, and soon I was crying, sobbing.

"No, no, no-no-no-no. This isn't real. This isn't happening." I fell against the door and slid to the ground. I refused to look at Percy.

I cried for a long time, and I couldn't get away from the person who'd done this to me. He sat on the ground, watching me, an unreadable expression on his face. I knew that he had cried, too, because his nose was red and his eyes puffy. I didn't feel any sympathy for him. He didn't make a move to comfort me. He just watched me.

I cried and cried.

This whole trip was completely worthless. We arrive at Camp Jupiter only to be kidnapped and to have my heart broken by someone that I'd trusted with my life. It was incredible how fast that trust could be broken. I was betrayed again by the person who said he'd never do something like that to me.

After several hours of complete silence and avoiding him, Percy walked over to me, one of his fists clenched.

"Get away from me."

"No."

"Go away!" I screamed.

He took my face in one hand, and I struggled, but he held me. The grip wasn't hard. It was...almost gentle.

With his other hand, he pulled out what looked like a vial. It was filled with a milky liquid. He uncapped it with his teeth.

"What are you doing?" I asked, fear in my voice.

"I'm sorry, Annabeth."

"Oh, you're _sorry_!" I laughed, nearing hysteria.

His eyes were soft. "I'm so sorry."

The vial neared my lips.

"You...what are you - no!"

The liquid fell into my mouth. I tried to spit it out, but some of it fell down my throat.

Blackness immediately started to take over my vision. I felt Percy let go of my face and take me in an embrace. His shoulders shook.

He placed my head on his shoulder and whispered something in my ear, voice trembling.

"I love you."

The blackness took over.

**I'm going to be out of town until Friday, so I won't be able to upload later this week until Friday/Saturday. Let me know what you guys think in the reviews, and I hope that you have a fabulous week! Minus my depressing story.**

**~littlebitclever**

**P.S. I feel like responding to some reviews.**

* * *

omgiloveit: **We'll see how good Mark of Athena is. I hope that it's good, too! I seriously can NOT wait until October. Why did he have to leave Son of Neptune on such a big cliffhanger? D:**

PercyplusAnnabeth: **I am scared that something like this ^^^ will happen, too! He better not screw up the Percabeth reunion like I did. I think I'd chuck the book across the room if he did. You have cows! That's so cool! I'm not expecting a review for every chapter or anything, and it's nice that you review so much. Thanks!**

Starkid Rocks: **Jar of Hearts is also a good song for that chapter! Good idea, good idea. Maybe I'll use that one for another chapter. We'll see how the story turns out!**

PercabethAndZebrasFTW: **I winced writing the entire chapter! And now you know how Annabeth is feeling right now. Did I do her justice? I think I would act the same way if some guy did that to me. Or I'd just be speechless...enough about that! I hate Octavian, too... :(**

waldork: **Definitely depressing for the Fields of Punishment. Or even the Fields of Asphodel...hmm.**


	8. Chapter 7: Letter

**Hey guys! I'm baaack!**

**Nobody missed me? Oh, okay.**

**Well, I have a new chapter for you, and it's also EXTRA long! You'll finally be able to know what happens next, like, what does the mysterious note say? Questions will be answered. Yay!**

**I did get home on Friday, but instead I just slept for 6 hours. I was out camping, and I think I got 2 hours of sleep every night. It was horrible. I was also busy yesterday, and now I have time to post this chapter.**

**The song for this chapter: 'Hello Night', by Zoe Keating. It's a gorgeous cello solo and I love her work. I've done a ballet dance to one of her songs. Just to let you know, at the beginning and end of the song, it has a strange ringing for about 30 seconds. I promise it's supposed to be like that. It's very quiet.**

**Put the song on repeat. As always, there's a link on my profile, too.**

**I think this is one of my favorites.**

**Let it commence.**

Percy

"You...what are you - no!"

Fear was on her face, and she tried to push the vial away, but I managed to get some of it in her mouth. I didn't even bother trying to hide the grief on my face for Octavian. I was finished pretending.

Her eyes turned glassy as the liquid touched her tongue. Her face went slack and she stared at me blankly.

My shoulders racked with sobs as I drew her close to me and placed her head on my shoulder. I rubbed her back, her hair, her face with my hand.

"I love you," I whispered.

She turned limp in my arms and I set her gently down, her head on my lap. Her eyes had closed, and besides the tear tracks on her face, she looked peaceful. She was knocked out from the Lethe, and it was wiping away her memory.

I pulled out the note in my pocket and clenched it in my fist. This note held everything, and if I lost it, she and I would be done for.

My fingers traced her jaw and brushed her hair. Why did I do this to her? Why couldn't I have gone noble and taken the Lethe myself? Why did I have to succumb to Octavian?

I knew the answer. He wasn't bluffing when he said he would kill us both. I could see it in his eyes. I'm sure that if I'd taken the Lethe for her, he would have killed us. I had no way to defend myself. Riptide was gone, taken away by Terminus. If I could just find it...

The door swung open, and I looked up from gazing Annabeth.

Octavian walked in, a smile on his face, and he started to applaud slowly.

"Quite the performance," he said. "I'll admit, you had me convinced. You are quite the actor."

I couldn't think of anything to say. All that ran through my mind was ways that I could kill Octavian, ranging from quick death to being chucked in lava. I settled with staring at him wordlessly, putting all of my hatred toward him in my glare. If only looks could kill.

"You're probably wondering what will happen next. I have plans for you, don't worry."

"I won't."

Surprise flickered across his face, but it was quickly gone. "You are predictable, Jackson," he spat. "I knew you were going to go along with this. You love her too much. Too loyal. Too soft. You are nothing. You were easy to defeat. I didn't beat you with strength. I beat your mind. And soon, you'll have nothing, just like her. You'll be wiped away. Cleansed, I dare say. It's your turn."

My fist tightened on the parchment. _Don't let him find it, don't let him find it_. _Everything will be okay if you just keep the note_.

Octavian put his hand in his robes and pulled out another vial.

"Do you want this the easy way, or the hard way?"

I held out my hand, and he dropped it in. I looked at Annabeth once more before I pounced.

I jumped at Octavian with lightning speed and he was knocked to the ground, his head hitting the stone wall. He shrieked in surprise before my fist connected to his face. His nose erupted under my knuckles and blood began to fall freely. He screamed in pain.

"Did you predict this?" I growled.

He managed to get a few swings in, but I held him down, wanting to cause pain to every part of him. Anger turned my vision red.

Arms suddenly hauled me away from him and threw me across the room. My head cracked against the wall and I saw stars. The vial had flown from my hands, but instead of shattering, bounced harmlessly on the grimy floor.

Octavian got up shakily, leaning against the wall and breathing heavily. Blood covered his face, and he already had bruises blossoming on his skinny arms. He had extreme fear on his face, and he glared at me. I didn't waver.

"Apparently, you've chosen the hard way," he moaned. "Bind him."

The same guard grabbed me roughly and tied rough rope around my wrists and feet. I fell to the ground losing my balance.

Fear suddenly gripped me. I'd dropped the note.

I could see it, lying just a few feet away near Annabeth's side. I tried to crawl towards Annabeth, but the guard flung me back.

"No, no," Octavian said. "Let him be by her. It'll make it worse for him."

I righted myself and crawled over to her. Octavian and the guard just watched me make my way slowly across the floor. They didn't move, and Octavian stared at me smugly. When I managed to get near her, I secretly picked up the note, hiding it in the palm of my hand.

"Give me the vial."

The guard walked over to where the vial was lying and handed it to Octavian. There wasn't even a scratch on the glass surface.

Octavian crouched down next to me. I felt a rush of satisfaction when I saw his bloody face.

"I've been waiting this moment for a long time," he whispered. "I've wanted to see you fail, Jackson, and now I'll be able to witness it. Any last words?"

"Save the stupid speech. Go to Tartarus."

"Hmm, I was expecting better. Oh, well."

He uncapped the bottle. I looked away from him and looked at Annabeth. I wanted her to be the last thing I saw.

"Say goodbye to your memories."

Hands grabbed my face and forced my mouth open. The vial touched my lips and the thick liquid fell down my throat. Instant blackness creeped into my vision, but I didn't take my gaze away from Annabeth.

I heard Octavian and the guard leave, but I didn't look away.

"Annabeth." My tongue fumbled over the word and it sounded like a garble. "Annabeth."

The blackness then took over, and my head fell to the floor.

Our hands were touching.

* * *

Annabeth

Headache. Pain. Darkness.

It felt like an invisible force was washing through my head, stealing things. Memories flickered through my mind, and in a flash, were gone.

Black. Dark. Gone.

I had nothing left.

I opened my eyes and blinked several times. My eyes felt like they were glued shut, and my head pounded insanely.

"Ugh," I moaned, touching my temples. I squeezed my eyes shut and slowly sat up.

I was on the floor. How did I get on the floor? What was I doing before? Did I faint?

I...I couldn't remember. Anything.

I blinked some more and looked around. I was in a small room. Stone walls, stone floor. Slime everywhere. Metal bars over the windows and door.

I was in a...ce...

What was it called?

A...cell. I was in a cell.

How did I get in a cell?

I looked around more. There was straw in a corner. Barely any light coming in the window. A person.

A person?

A person.

A _boy_.

I stared at him. He was lying down, facing me. His eyes were closed and he was breathing softly. Was he asleep?

He was muscular, and had dark hair that fell over his face. His mouth was slightly open, showing perfect teeth. His feet were tied together, and as I moved my eyes over him, I saw his hands were, too.

And they were touching mine.

I jerked my hand away. Why was he touching me? Who was he? Where am I? _Who_ am I?

My head started to pound again, and I felt like I was missing something. I _knew_ I was missing something. What was I missing?

I looked at the boy again, and my heart started to pound. I felt attracted...

What? What was I saying? What was I feeling? I couldn't remember.

I saw his hands lying there, and I gently touched them. He didn't move. I placed my hand on top of his tied ones.

His skin looked rubbed raw from the ropes. I moved to his feet and untied the ropes from his ankles. I then moved to his hands. I threw the ropes in the corner.

Something was in his hand.

He was clutching something.

It looked like...

What was it? What did it look like?

I racked my brains. It looked like...paper. It looked like paper.

Curious, I tried to gently pull the paper out of his fist.

He twitched, and I jumped back.

He moaned and rolled over, so I was looking at his back. He moved a hand up and rubbed his face and brushed his hair back. He sat up, blinking hard.

He looked around, and I realized I was holding my breath. His eyes moved around the cell until they stopped on mine.

His eyes were bright green.

My heart stopped.

He looked confused.

"Who...who are you?"

"I don't know. Who are you?"

He rubbed his eyes with his fists. The paper was still in them.

"I...don't know either. Do you know where we are?"

"No. I woke up here. I can't remember anything."

He groaned. "Me neither." His hands fell back in his lap. "Do you know your name?"

I thought hard. "I think...I think it starts with an...A? No...I can't remember."

"Me neither," he repeated.

He suddenly jumped and stared at his fist. "What's this? How did it get here?" He pulled out the paper and looked at it. "Do you know what it is?"

I shook my head. "I saw it in your hand when I woke up. Open it."

He unfolded it and stared at it, his green eyes moving over the paper. My eyes moved up to his face. His hair was sticking up, and it was falling into his eyes. His eyebrows furrowed together while he read.

"I don't believe it," he said suddenly.

He stared at the note again.

"What is it?" I asked.

Instead of answering, he just handed the note to me. I started to read:

_Dear Percy,_

_Yes, that's your name. I don't have much time, and I'm writing as fast as I can. My time is running out, but you need to know this, or else everything will be lost._

_I'm you. In the past._

_It's insane, I know. We are Percy Jackson, seventeen years old, and a demigod. You are the son of Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea. I...er, we, can control water._

_We've been captured and thrown into this cell. I can't explain the whole thing, but soon I'm going to lose my memories. I'll forget everything. When you read this, it'll have happened to me already._

_There will probably be a girl in the cell with you. Her name is Annabeth Chase, and, this is going to sound crazy, but you love her. A lot. You're dating right now. She's also a demigod, the daughter of Athena, goddess of wisdom._

_Now to what you need to do. You need to get out of here. ASAP. If you don't...I don't even know what will happen to you. First priority is escape. Don't get caught by Octavian. He's bad news and the one who's done this to you. You need Annabeth with you._

_Once you've managed to do that, you need to retrieve your sword, Riptide. Terminus, the god of borders, is holding it. He's a statue, and he's outside somewhere. This thing is important to you._

_Ask Annabeth if she has a hat in her pocket. She can turn invisible when she wears it._

_Leave Camp Jupiter. That's where you are now. Get away from there as fast as possible._

_Once you've left, find the god, Hypnos. He's somewhere in the Underworld. You need to find the entrance to the Underworld and find him, and, I honestly don't know if this is going to work, but he may be able to restore your memories. If he can, you'll remember everything that has happened to you._

_I'm sorry about all of this. This will be confusing to you, but you need to do it._

_You need to get out of there._

_Give Annabeth a kiss for me__._

_~Percy_

**And there's the note. I hope you guys like this chapter. Honestly, I think it's my favorite one in the story so far. Please leave me a review and tell me what you think! Do you like it when I accompany my chapters with songs? I think I asked that before, but I don't remember what you said. I think it's fun to find a song that fits in well with the chapter. It's a good challenge.**

**I could also go with suggestions for songs, too! They can be instrumental or songs with lyrics. Leave me a song in the reviews and I'll check them out. I listen to the song while I write, so the song greatly influences the chapter, and if you give me a good suggestion, the chapter will be awesome thanks to you! I want you involved! Give me ideas!**

**I love hearing from you guys, especially when my phone rings nonstop because of the emails of the reviews/subscriptions that you've left me. Thank you for giving me 31 reviews after just seven chapters. It may not seem like much, but every review gets me going. Motivation.**

**I'll hopefully see you guys soon. Well, not literally see, but...you know what I mean.**

**OKAY BYE.**

**R&R Percy's letter...**


	9. Chapter 8: Infection

**Chapter eeeiiighhttt!**

**The song for this chapter is the same. 'Hello Night' by Zoe Keating.**

**Let it commence.**

Percy

My head. My head hurt so bad. It felt like someone was smashing the inside with a sledgehammer.

I just lay there with my eyes closed, trying to get over the pain.

What happened?

Why did my head hurt?

I tried to control my breathing. I was lost and confused. I couldn't remember a thing. Nothing. My mind was empty, like the person who was smashing my head took everything out first.

I tried to ask myself simple questions:

_What's my name? _P...I don't know.

_What are my parent's names? _Do I even have parents?

I felt something tug at my hand. It jolted me awake and I groaned. The person jerked their hand back and I rolled over. I lifted my arm up, stretched, and then rubbed my face. I sat up and brushed my hair back.

I looked around the cell. A pile of straw in one corner, gross walls, gross floor, a window with bars over it, a girl.

A girl.

A _pretty_ girl.

She was staring at me with bright gray eyes. She was slightly recoiled back, ready to jump away. Her forehead had a nasty gash in it, and dried blood crusted her hair and forehead. Her hair was blonde.

"Who...who are you?"

She relaxed slightly, but she looked confused. "I don't know. Who are you?"

I thought hard, but a searing pain ran through my temples. I rubbed my eyes, trying to force the pain out. It was like I _knew_ the answer, but I couldn't find it.

"I...don't know either. Do you know where we are?"

She shook her head. "No. I woke up here. I can't remember anything."

I groaned, my head still throbbing. "Me neither." I dropped my hands. "Do you know your name?"

She furrowed her brow, thinking hard. My heart started to pound.

"I think...I think it starts with an A? No...I can't remember."

"Me neither," I said again. I sat there for a minute, saying nothing, when I realized I had something clutched tightly in my fist. I jumped. Why didn't I realize it before?

I stared at my fist. "What's this? How did it get here?" I pulled it out, inspecting it. It was folded rather small, but there was nothing written on the outside. I looked at the girl. "Do you know what it is?"

She shook her head again. "I saw it in your hand when I woke up. Open it."

Shrugging, I unfolded it and started to read.

Everything became a blur and my head started reeling. Gods? I've lost my memories? I need to escape?

And the girl.

Annabeth. That was her name. It fit her perfectly. I loved that name.

"I don't believe it," I said mechanically.

"What is it?" she - Annabeth - asked.

I just handed the note to her wordlessly.

I watched her as she read. When she got to the part where it said: _You love her. A lot. You're dating right now_, she blushed and glanced at me. I just smiled weakly.

She finished the letter and then reread it. When she finished again, she turned the paper over in her hands.

"I don't...understand. We're _demigods_. Son of the sea god? Daughter of wisdom? There's no _proof_."

I shrugged. "Check your pocket. The note says to. That'll be proof enough for me."

She looked scared as she ran her hand down to her front pockets. "Nothing here."

"Check the back ones."

She touched her back pocket and jerked her hand away. "There's something in there," she whispered.

I gestured for her to pull it out. She slowly pulled out a dark blue Yankees hat.

"It's a hat...a _hat_," she said, staring at it.

"See if it's _the_ hat. Put it on. Let's see what it does," I said.

She shook it out and placed it on her head. Her form flickered and vanished.

"Whoa!" I yelped, jumping back.

"Oh, my gods!" she shrieked. She yanked it off.

"Percy was right...or, I guess _I_ was right. It's all true. Nothing like that should even exist!" I said.

She stared at the cap. "This isn't right. This shouldn't be right. But...it feels right. Why does it feel right?"

"It feels right for me, too. Do you have any water?"

"What?"

"I want to see if I can control it like the note says."

She looked around. "I think there's a puddle back there."

I stood up and walked over to the corner and found the small pool of water. Staring at it hard, I started to think.

_Okay, how does this work? Do I just will it to move or-_

A tugging pulled at my gut and the water lifted up in the air and formed a sphere.

Annabeth clapped a hand to her mouth. "No way."

I couldn't help but smile. I let the water fall back down with a splash. I sat down next to her and pulled out the note again.

"Annabeth," I said. She started when I said her name, but then she nodded. "If you can turn invisible, and I can control water, then that means this letter is true. I sounded frantic when I was writing this. This Octavian guy is horrible if he's done this to us. We need to get out of here and find a way to get our memories back."

"If all of this is true..." she trailed off.

"It is," I insisted.

She looked at me, and it felt like her gray eyes were studying me, taking everything in and analyzing it.

"I believe you. You sound like you know what you're talking about."

Our hands were inches apart. I resisted the urge to hold it.

Trying to clear my thoughts, I stood up and walked over to the door. There was a small hole where I could look out into the hallway, but there was nothing there. There wasn't even a guard. I rattled the handle, but it was locked.

_Figures_, I thought.

"Check the hinges," Annabeth said. "They could be rusted and weak."

I bent over to look at them, but the hinges looked secure. "There isn't a speck of rust on any of these."

Annabeth got up and looked at the window. "We might be able to rip the bars off, but we don't have anything to give enough force."

I slumped against the wall. "It's hopeless." I suddenly perked up. "A stone might be loose. We might be able to crawl out."

"Check the ones by the door," Annabeth instructed.

I rapped the stones with my knuckles and tried to rattle some of them out of the cement. "None here. What about yours?"

Annabeth didn't answer.

"Annabeth?" I turned around.

"Percy..." she whispered. My heart thudded in my chest when she said my name.

"What? Did you find something?"

"No, Percy...I..." She fell to the ground.

"Annabeth!" I ran over to her. Her fingers were fluttering over her forehead, and blood was starting to flow again. The wound was tinged green. I brushed her hair out of her gash, and my fingers were stained with her blood.

"I think it's infected," she whispered.

**Eh, just a filler chapter WITH A CLIFFHANGER AT THE END.**

**Thanks for all of the reviews I got, guys! Almost all of them told me to write and update faster, hehe. SO, I'll strike a deal with you, because I'm like this. I am SO close to getting 40 reviews on this story. I think I need three more. IF I get three more reviews (or more if you guys insist), I will post the next chapter TODAY. You read me. TODAY. If not, I'll just post the next chapter who knows when. I have plans tomorrow, so I don't know when I'll be able to post again.**

**So, do all ya'll agree?**

**Awesome!**

**OKAY BYE.**

**R&R Percy's thoughts about Annabeth**


	10. Chapter 9: Escape

**When you guys deliver, you DELIVER. Thanks guys! We've cracked 40 reviews! WOO.**

**And now, as promised, here is the not-so-long-awaited chapter. It's only been a couple hours.**

**Let it commence.**

Percy

My heart dropped down to my stomach. Infected. How could it be infected? How did she get the wound in the first place?

Annabeth was in my arms. I hardly knew her, and I felt like I was losing a family member. I didn't know if she was going to die or not. I had nothing to treat her with, and I knew that Octavian, whoever he was, wasn't going to help either.

"Percy..." Annabeth whispered. Tears were running down her cheeks and mixing with the blood. She had pulled her hands away from her forehead and was clutching my shirt. "It hurts so bad."

"I know, I know," I said, brushing her hair back. I needed something to cover the gash, or else it would just get worse.

Deciding on my shirt, I ripped off the cleanest part I could find and wrapped it gingerly around her head.

"Percy, I'm..." Her eyes started to roll back in her head.

"No, no, Annabeth, stay with me! Don't give in!" I started to panic. Infections didn't do this, did they?

Placing her gently on the ground, I ran over to the door and started to pound on it. "Help! She's going to die! Someone, please!" I pounded for what felt like ages.

Giving up, I went back to Annabeth. I picked up her head, put it on my lap and held her hand. Our fingers were slick with blood, but I didn't care.

The door creaked. I jerked my head up. The outside was completely black and I couldn't see who was there.

"Who's there?" I croaked.

I saw a figure in the doorway, and they strode inside, closing the door behind them.

"Show yourself!" I demanded. The person fumbled with something and clicked on a flashlight. Underneath their helmet was a boy who looked Chinese. He had some slight baby fat around his face, but he looked muscular.

"Who are you?" I asked. "What do you want?" I tightened my grip on Annabeth's fingers. She was unconscious.

The kids face looked worried. "He gave it to you already?" He cursed in a weird language, and I somehow was able to translate it.

"Who are you?" I asked again.

"Percy, I'm Frank. Don't you remember?"

"What?"

He slapped his forehead. "Of course not. He gave you the Lethe."

"No one gave me anything! How do you know who I am?"

He knelt down next to Annabeth. "We're friends. Before your memory was lost, anyway. I managed to escape from my cell, and I'm here to bust you out."

"How can I believe you?"

"You'll just have to trust me. Do you want me to heal your friend? I'm guessing she's Annabeth."

"How do you know her name?" I demanded.

"You wouldn't stop talking about her when you had your memory. Man, you were head over heels for her. Now, do you want her healed or not?"

"How can you heal her?"

Instead of answering, he fumbled around inside a pouch and pulled out some weird cracker things and a thermos. He shoved a cracker in Annabeth's mouth and dripped some of the stuff in the thermos on her forehead.

"I hope that'll be enough. The blade was poisoned when he sliced her. She's lucky that she's lasted this long. She must be tough."

"Who did this to her?" I asked. I felt like I already knew the answer.

"Octavian," Frank replied.

"I'm going to kill him," I growled.

"Trust me, we all want to," Frank said. "We've got to get you out of here. They'll notice soon enough that I'm gone. Everyone on Octavian's side captured everyone who didn't agree with them, including the Greeks. They're being held somewhere down here. I don't know where. I was in a cell by myself because they knew I was one of the biggest threats. We need you to get outside and get a weapon. You need to leave this place fast. Pick up Annabeth and follow me."

I had no idea what half of what he said meant, but I just nodded. I slid my hands underneath her and stood up. Her head flopped backwards, but I didn't have time to fix her.

"Come on," Frank said hurriedly. He peeked outside and then ran out. I was hot on his heels, slamming the door behind me. He stopped at every corner and looked around, and had me check behind us several times. We had tons of close calls. We ducked into empty cells and pressed against the walls and prayed several times, too.

I looked down at Annabeth. The wound wasn't green anymore, and it looked like it had shrunk a bit, but it was still bleeding.

"Give me some more of that stuff," I said.

"No, I don't want her to burn up."

I didn't know what to say to that, so I just looked behind me, checking to make sure there was no one there.

"Okay, I think we're good," Frank said. He bolted around the corner and I ran behind him. I saw a massive door at the end of the hallway.

"That's the way out," Frank panted. "Go!"

We took several more steps before we heard guards behind us.

"Crap..." Frank muttered.

"Hey, stop them!"

"Run, Percy!"

"No, let me help you!"

"You've got to get out of here! I can handle them."

I whipped around just in time to see Frank's form shudder. Suddenly, a huge bear was in his place, and it roared and took a swipe at one of the guards. He screamed and dropped his weapon.

I almost screamed myself. Frank...was a bear?

The bear turned around and looked at me. I backed up slowly. It made a weird motion with its paw, almost shooing me away. Nodding, I took several steps backward before running to the door.

It was locked.

"Frank! Bust open this door!" I yelled.

Letting out an earth-shattering roar, he knocked over guards like dominoes before running full speed. I barely managed to dive away before the bear slammed into the door, breaking it into splinters.

"Thanks!" I shouted before running away.

Annabeth bounced in my arms as I ran up a flight of stairs. I heard a bear roar in pain and I almost turned back. I had to help Frank. He helped me.

"Percy..." Annabeth suddenly moaned.

"It's okay, Annabeth. We're getting out of here."

Hoping that Frank would be okay, I ran up the rest of the stairs. I burst through another door and blinked in the sunlight.

"We're out!" I cheered. I took another step forward and almost tripped.

"What the-" I had stepped on a backpack. There was a note on it that said _Percy: I would have gotten your sword, but Terminus wouldn't give it up. You need to get it yourself_. Setting Annabeth down, I picked up the backpack and looked inside. There was food, water, clothes, and a thermos and a baggie of more of those square things.

"Thank you, Frank," I whispered.

Swinging the backpack over my shoulder, I picked up Annabeth and ran away from our prison.

**Brah-brah-brah! - trumpet**

**So, what do you think, guys? Our two heroes have managed to make it out of their prison and escaped (for now) from Octavian! Thanks to Frank, our heroes are once again sorta safe from danger not for very long!**

**Any guesses to how Frank escaped? Tell me what you think!**

**Thank you for everyone who reviewed right then. Ya'll are so nice :)**

**So, like I said, I have plans tomorrow, so I don't know if I'll be able to update or not.**

**Thanks guys!**

**OKAY BYE.**

**R&R Percy's escape...**


	11. Chapter 10: Healed

**Hey guys! The first thing I want to do is clear up something. A reviewer asked me this question, and I realized that some other people might be wondering the same thing.**

**Why isn't Percy's sword returning to his pocket like it normally does?**

**Well, if you remember in the Son of Neptune, I believe, Terminus takes everyone's weapons as they enter the Pomerian Line so they don't kill each other during the Senate Meeting. Terminus tells Percy that the sword won't return to his pocket while he's inside the Line. So, in a previous chapter, that tells Percy where he is. He's still behind the Line because Riptide didn't return to his pocket while he's in his cell. Now, all they have to do is cross the Line and Riptide will return to his pocket again. But they don't know that.**

**Does that make sense? Sorry if I took a while getting to the point.**

**Another thing. Sorry, this A/N is kinda long :/**

**I know that I'm not writing to full scale 'Lethe Memory Loss'. If I did, they would be completely helpless and not know ANYTHING. That's **_**hard**_**. So, I'm kinda doing the 'Hera Memory Loss', where they know general things (how to read, where to buy food etc.) but lose all their memories about their past. AKA They love each other and Greek Mythology.**

**Also, this chapter is more of a filler. :/**

**Okay, I'll save the rest for the bottom. All of this is really long. Sorry!**

**Let it commence.**

Annabeth  
Everything happened in a blur. I fell against the wall, and my vision was sliding in and out of focus. I saw Percy kneeling over me and clutching my hand. I remembered Percy picking me up, but after that I was gone. For some reason, bears came in and out of my dreams, but the pain in my forehead kept me under.

"Percy?" I groaned.

I felt someone sit by me and take my hand.

"Hey, I'm here. What is it?"

I opened my eyes and saw him leaning over me. I used my other hand to touch my forehead. It had scabbed over, and I didn't feel any blood.

"What happened? My forehead...?"

"Frank healed it and I cleaned it up for you."

"What? Who's Frank?" I asked, sitting up.

He looked at me with his green eyes. My heart did a couple flips, but I didn't know why. I'd only known this kid for a couple hours. Why was I acting like this?

"Frank is the person who helped us escape. We're out, Annabeth!" He grinned at me.

I finally realized that we weren't in the cell. We were sitting by a lake, hidden underneath some bushes.

"What?"

"I figured the best place to hide was the closest to where they were keeping us. They'll expect us to leave...Camp Jupiter? as fast as we can."

I nodded. "That's smart."

"Now all we need to do is get my sword and find the Underworld. What the heck is the Underworld?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I lost my memories, too, remember?"

"Looks like we'll have to do some research then."

My forehead started to itch, and I subconsciously scratched at it.

Percy grabbed my wrist. "What are you doing! You'll just open the wound again. Do you know how long that took to heal?"

"How long have we been here, exactly?"

"Maybe a day or so?"

I shot to my feet.

"A day?" I yelped. "We could have been gone by now! They'll find us!"

Percy clapped a hand to my mouth. "Shut up! They'll find us _now_ because you're yelling!" He removed his hand. "We've stayed here because I had to wait for your forehead to heal. The sword that slashed you was laced with poison. You would have died if Frank hadn't of gotten there, and it was healing slowly. I needed to wait."

"Okay, okay," I said, lowering my voice. "How did it heal so fast? And how did you get all this?" I gestured to the food and the new clothes he was wearing.

"Frank left us a backpack. He thought of everything. And, he had, like, these magic crackers and drink. He shoved a cracker in your mouth and drizzled some of the drink on your forehead. It started to heal right away, but he said I shouldn't give you too much or else you'll burn up."

"What?" I shrieked.

"I know, he even brought clothes for you, too!"

"No! I'll burn up!"

He looked taken aback. "Oh. That's what you meant. Only if you take too much. I've been too scared to give you more. It seems like it's healing fine."

I sat back down weakly. "Magic crackers, invisibility hat, and someone who can control water. What else could pop up in my life?"

"What else do we need to do?" Percy asked.

"Do you have the note?"

He handed it to me. "Well, it seems pretty straightforward, like, finding Terminus. Minus the Underworld - whatever that is - and finding a guy named _Hypnos_," I said, scanning the paper. "I think we should go to...what's that place called? You find out stuff there. It has...books?"

"A library?" **(A/N I honestly have no idea if they would remember what that's called, let alone what it is. Let's pretend they would.)**

"Yeah, that. We can figure out what all _this_-" I shook the paper "-is."

"Good idea," Percy said. He glanced at me. "Do you need to change...or?"

I blushed. "Turn around."

He handed me the backpack, his face slightly pink, and turned around. I dug around and found some clothes I could wear and quickly changed into them. The shirt, it turned out, was Percy's, but I ignored it and slipped on some jeans.

"Okay, I'm good," I said.

He turned and looked at me. For a long time.

"What?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. You're just wearing my shirt."

I ignored this.

"Come on, Seaweed Brain, let's go."

He started when I called him that.

"What, is that too mean? Sorry, I was just..." I trailed off.

"No, it's fine. I...I could have sworn...No, it's nothing. Don't worry about it. I'm just going crazy."

"Sorry, it just seemed fitting with your dad apparently being a sea god and all..."

He held up a hand. "It's fine. I kinda like it, anyway."

"Okay..."

He took the backpack from me. "Let's go."

Percy poked his head out from the leaves and looked around. He suddenly ducked back down and hit me, knocking me to the ground.

"The crap?" I gasped.

"Sorry! There was someone there," he said. He offered me his hand, and I yanked him down next to me.

"Thanks," I said smugly, standing up.

Percy glared at me from the ground. "Just help me up and let's get out of here."

"Fine," I sighed, rolling my eyes. Thankfully, he didn't pull me down when I offered him my hand. I looked out of the bushes and saw that there was nothing in sight.

"Okay, let's go," I whispered.

I jumped out of the bush as quietly as I could and ran behind a tree, Percy right behind me. I was about to run to another tree when Percy stopped me. "Do you even know where we're going? Cause I don't."

"Away," I said.

He shrugged. "Sounds good to me."

He was about to walk out from behind the tree when two kids in guard uniform walked by. I grabbed his shirt and yanked him against me, breathing hard, praying they wouldn't see us.

"Dude, where are you assigned to guard right now?" the first guard said.

The other guy groaned. "The Pomerian Line. Terminus is going to annoy the crap out of me. He keeps saying that he'll slap me across the face for being so stupid, but he doesn't have any arms! I hope Octavian takes care of him soon. Throw him off a building or something."

"Man, I'm sorry," the first guard said sympathetically.

They walked away, the second guard still mumbling about Terminus.

Percy looked at me. "Well, that was easy."

I nodded. Then I realized that he was still leaning on me. Cheeks flaming, I pushed him off and he was red with embarrassment.

"Let's just go," I said, pretending that never happened.

**o.O**

**Oh. My. Gosh.**

**I only asked for 40 reviews on the story and I got...54? *twitch***

**YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING! AH I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!**

**Okay, whoa. Sorry. I think I crossed the line there. I mean, I love you all, my FANTASTIC readers, but not **_**that**_**way. Why would you even...okay.**

**As a reward for being wonderful overachievers, I'll post ANOTHER chapter today! YAY.**

**Also, to the people that guessed Frank's escape, you were right! Transformed into something small and got the heck out of his cell. You know, Octavian is pretty stupid to have him locked up like that.**

**Yeah, the question was easy. I get it.**

**Sigh...you guys are the best..**

**Imma write the next chapter, now!**

**OKAY BYE.**

**R&R Annabeth calling Percy 'Seaweed Brain'...**

**P.S. I just realized that Annabeth says "What?" a lot in this chapter...**


	12. Chapter 11: Thoughts

**Hello, hello again! Thanks guys already for the nice reviews on the other chapter I posted today! I might do responses at the bottom...we'll see.**

**I have a song for this chapter! Sorry about the previous chapter. It was hard finding a song that fit the mood, but I have a perfect song for this one.**

**Ze song is called 'Wind' by Brian Cain. A very special thank you to **PercyplusAnnabeth **who told me about him! He's fantastic! I also loved the song you recommended, and I think I have an idea for when I can use it :D**

**As always (yes, I'm still repeating this), if you have problems or are too lazy to look it up yourself, I have it posted on my profile!**

**Let it commence.**

Percy

After double checking to make sure there was no one else in sight besides the two guards, Annabeth and I followed behind them several yards behind, walking as quietly as possible.

We didn't say much. After she realized that she had pulled me against her when we were hiding, Annabeth was avoiding my gaze. Our shoulders occasionally knocked into each other as we walked, but that was the most eventful thing.

The guards ahead of us laughed loudly and shoved each other a lot, so we had to duck behind bushes and behind trees several times, but when we did, Annabeth made sure we weren't touching again. It became extremely awkward between us. For some reason, the note was running through my mind, specifically the part that said I _loved _her. Annabeth was extremely beautiful, and my heart always did a little skip when she looked at me, but I just couldn't handle it. I'd known this girl for a grand total of two days: the day in the cell and the day in the bush, and when we were in the bush, she was unconscious most of the time.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I couldn't be having feelings about her right now. It was ridiculous.

_Give Annabeth a kiss for me_.

Annabeth's cheeks had been flaming red when she read that part, and I didn't know how to feel about it. I still couldn't really believe that she and I had been dating before. It was so awkward when I read it first, and she asked me what it was. I was embarrassed to hand the note to her.

Ugh. Stupid mixed emotions.

I looked at Annabeth again. She was shorter than me - her head barely came up to my nose. Her hair was in gorgeous curls. When I had washed her hair in the lake to get the blood out, I had sat there for a minute just looking at her hair. It slowly formed into the curls again and dried quickly. I wanted to run my fingers through her hair, but fought the urge. Get a grip, Percy.

And her eyes. I'd never seen anything like them. Granted, I'd only seen things for only two days since I couldn't remember anything else. I'm sure that my past self was mesmerized by her gray eyes. They seemed to be studying you, analyzing you, as if she knew exactly what you were thinking.

She glanced up, probably feeling my eyes on her, and I quickly looked away. I didn't want to be caught staring.

"Percy!"

I realized that she had been saying my name for a while.

"What?"

"Where are you going? The guards went down that way," she said, pointing down another road. I could see them in the distance, one guard laughing at the other, who had fallen on his butt.

"Oh," I said stupidly.

* * *

Annabeth

I resisted rolling my eyes at Percy. He'd been acting weird since I pulled him against me. I did it without thinking. I just didn't want to be thrown in that disgusting cell again.

When I grabbed his t-shirt and he fell against me, I could feel his muscles tense up.

Gods, Percy was attractive.

I widened my eyes. Where did that come from? And how would I know if he was attractive? He's been pretty much the only guy I've seen, ever. I'm sure that there are other guys better looking than Percy.

How did I even start thinking about Percy, anyways?

I tried to clear my head.

_That's a pretty lake_, I thought. The sparkling water in the sun. Water. Percy can control water.

Oh, gods.

Our shoulders knocked together again, and I could feel goosebumps erupt on my arms when our skin touched. His arms were toned, probably from lifting weights or something. Maybe he was in a weightlifting class at school?

That jolted me out of my Percy-thoughts. School. Was I enrolled in school? Did I have friends there? Were they missing me?

My family. Oh, gods, my family. Did I have a family? I'm sure I did. They'd be worried sick. I suddenly go missing from their house. They might think I was kidnapped. The police will be searching for me. And if they saw me with Percy...what would they think? He was the kidnapper?

If a thought could kick me in the gut, I would have been sprawled on the ground right now. The note said that we were dating...what if..?

I could hardly think it without cringing. What if they thought we'd...oh, man. We'd eloped?

I kicked myself mentally in the shin. Why did I think that? Ugh!

Percy...well, I could congratulate myself for getting with him. He was attractive. His hair was sticking up in the slight breeze. Jet black, it shone in the sun. I could tell that he really didn't take care of it. Maybe it'd never seen a brush before. But I liked his hair like that. It made him look...carefree.

His arms swung by his sides while he walked. He definitely did do something with his arms to make him that toned. They were tanned, and I knew that he probably spent a lot of time in the sun. If his dad was a sea god, he most likely spent a lot of time at the beach. That meant that he could swim, too. That's probably how he stayed in shape. Swimming.

His hand clenched and unclenched the letter in his fist. He was probably thinking about it.

_I am thinking too much about him_, I told myself. _Knock it off_.

What would he do if he knew I was thinking about him? He would probably laugh at me. And his eyes would crinkle up and he would show is perfect white teeth.  
His eyes. Every time he looked at me with them, I practically melted. How did his eyes get so bright? They were soft, understanding. I felt like I could tell him anything.  
Probably not this, though. That would be embarrassing.

I felt someone looking at me. Glancing up, I saw Percy staring at me with those incredible eyes, and he looked away quickly. He probably didn't want to get caught.  
Shaking off the feeling, I saw the guards take a right down another road. I followed behind them and took several steps before I realized that Percy wasn't next to me. I turned around and walked back to him. He was staring off into space, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Percy?" He didn't answer.

"Hey, Percy." Nothing.

"Percy!" He jumped and looked around before looking at me.

"What?" he asked.

"Where are you going? The guards went down that way," I said, pointing at them.

He followed my finger and saw them laughing and pushing each other over.

"Oh."

I grabbed his arm, sighing, towing him behind me. "Come on, Seaweed Brain."

**AGH I SHIP THEM SO HARD.**

**I seriously love this chapter. I couldn't help grinning, like, the entire time I was writing it. And I was listening to 'Wind' nonstop for the past two hours while writing, so that helped a lot, too. *le squee!***

**You guys are the best. We're up to 62 reviews! That's incredible. Yesterday I was just at 37. That's insane. Gah.**

**REVIEW RESPONSES!**

OceanaFallen: **You have no idea how much your review made me laugh! That was seriously funny. Thanks for following my story! You're the best, you and your sense of humor, you.**

BlueMuffins:** As a response to your question, Percy was kidnapped behind the Pomerian Line, which means that he gave Riptide to Terminus. Terminus takes away weapons as people enter the Pomerian Line, so it won't return to his pocket while behind the Line. Does that make sense? Let me know if you have any more questions!**

Helios Spirit: **Love the username. As an answer to your question: Hazel and everyone on the Argo II was captured as well. Octavian snagged everybody who he thought would side with the Greeks, including Reyna and the people on her side. Then (it doesn't say this in the story at all. Bonus information!) he put the whole city under quarantine. Like, the people who are old and going to college and all that jazz. He's ruling New Rome with an iron fist! Dictator!  
**

**END OF REVIEW RESPONSES!**

**I think I answered everyone's questions that left one. If you have any others, feel free to ask!**

**Thanks for everything, guys! I'll see you soon!**

**OKAY BYE.**

**R&R PERCABETH. Gah, I love them.**


	13. Chapter 12: Arguments

**Chapter Tweelve!**

**The song for this chapter is called 'Winter' by Brian Crain. I honestly have no idea if it works or not. It was just the song I listened to repeatedly while writing this chapter.**

**Link on my profile for help. I don't think I'm going to say this anymore. I think you guys get it.**

**Let it commence.**

Annabeth

We finally made it to the _Pomerian Line_, whatever that was, without being spotted. The guard that was assigned there took post and the other went in a different direction.

"The note says Terminus was a statue, right?" I asked. We were currently hiding behind a tree again, Percy breathing down my neck. I resisted pushing him away. It was awkward enough between us already.

He unfolded the letter for the umpteenth time.

"Percy, if you play with that note too much, it's going to rip. It's our guide to life right now, and I won't be happy if it's ruined," I hissed.

"Sorry, sorry." He scanned the letter. "Yeah, Terminus is a statue."

"Okay." I peeked around the tree again and saw the guard standing by a bust on a pedestal. "Bingo."

I took a step out when Percy grabbed my shoulder.

"There's a guard right by the statue. How are we going to take him down if we don't have anything to take him out with?"

I cursed. "You're right." I thought for a minute. "That guy seems like an idiot. Maybe I can distract him and you go to Terminus and get your sword."

"Yeah, and how are you going to distract him?" he asked, folding his arms. "I should do it. You'll get caught too easily."

"You're forgetting about this," I said, pulling out the hat and shaking it in front of his face. "Besides, if...uh, Past Percy...says that it's your sword, I don't know if I'll be able to get it."

He frowned at my logic. "I guess you're right."

"A daughter of Athena always has a plan," I said smugly. For some reason that sounded familiar.

"Daughter of Athena." He snorted. "This is all too crazy."

Thunder rumbled in the sky. I looked up, confused. It was a clear day. Shrugging, I looked at Percy again. "Dude, you can control water. Get over it."

Percy rolled his eyes. "So what are you going to do to distract him? How do I know when to get the sword?"

"You'll know."

I flipped my hat on my head and saw my shadow ripple and vanish. I was never going to get tired of that.

Percy grabbed my arm. How he did, I had no idea. "Annabeth, are you sure...?"

"Percy, this is the perfect time! There is no one in sight besides that one guard. We've got to get out of here now. I'm sure they're tightening up security because we've escaped. I have no idea when more guards are going to be around here because this seems to be the only way out. We've got to go now!"

He let go. "Fine. But if you're in trouble..."

"I won't be."

With that, I ran as quietly as I could away from the tree. I did a wide arc around the guard until I was facing is left shoulder several yards away. At one point, I stepped on a twig and his head swiveled exactly to where I was standing, eyes narrowed. I clapped a hand to my mouth and was sure that was going to charge right at me. My heart was pounding out of my chest, and I was convinced that he could hear it. His eyes just looked over me and he returned to his original position. It was hard to remember that you were invisible.

I checked and made sure that Percy was still behind the tree before slowly crouching to my knees and picking up a stone. Turning it over in my fingers, I sent up a silent prayer. I figured that if there were gods, I was going to need all the help I could get.

_Please let this work..._

I pulled my arm back and flung it forward. The rock flew from my hands and became visible when it left contact. It sailed toward the guard and landed a foot short. It fell at his feet, and he looked down.

"What the-?"

I grabbed another and ran to a new spot and threw it hard. The rock hit him on the shoulder.

"Hey!"

He turned to face me and ran forward. I sprinted away to a new spot, gathering rocks as I went.

_Help me! _I prayed.

I stopped in front of him when he was charging blindly at me, and threw a heavy rock as hard as I could. It hit him square between the eyes when he was just several feet in front of me. I could have stretched out my arm and touched him. He staggered and fell forward, his eyes rolling up into the back of his head. He fell and hit the ground hard, his hand brushing my shoe. I recoiled instantly, hoping that he wouldn't grab my ankle. He didn't.

I realized that I was holding my breath. I let it out and saw Percy bolt from behind the tree towards Terminus. Checking to make sure no one was near and that the guard was knocked out, I took off my hat and walked toward him.

"You are a lousy shot," Percy said.

"Shut up," I said, elbowing him in the gut. "I took care of him, didn't I?"

"Alright, alright," he said, holding his hands up in surrender. "Let's just get my sword. I felt completely helpless behind that tree. I need something to fight with."

We walked over to the scowling bust and saw a tray filled with weapons lying at the base. Percy bent over, picking up a large sword.

"Think this is it?" he asked, running his thumb on the blade.

"Absolutely not!" the bust yelled.

Percy jumped and then cried out in pain, blood running down his thumb. I clapped a hand to my mouth and saw the statue glaring at us.

"What do you think you're doing?" it demanded.

"You...talk?" I whispered.

"Of course I talk, you foolish girl! Do you want a slap on the face for asking such a stupid question?"

"Uh, no. No, thank you," I said, not mentioning that he didn't have any arms. "Are you...Terminus?"

"Of course I'm Terminus!" Terminus yelled. "Why are you acting so stupid? We've been through this before! Where's your disgusting warship?"

"My...what?" I said.

"Nevermind that!" he rounded on Percy. Well, sort of. "Where's you and your _Greeks_?"

"Terminus," Percy said. "We've lost our memories. We need to leave here and get them back. I'd like to have my sword. Do you know what it looks like?"

Terminus huffed. "What do you mean _you're leaving_?" He turned to me. If smoke could have come out of his ears, it would have. "You made me _bend the rules_ for your horrible warship, and then you just leave three days later? What is the meaning of this!"

"I-I'm sorry," I said, shocked. I had no idea what he was talking about. "If we could just-"

"No! Don't think you're going to leave for a second! I'm tired of all this! All of you disrespectful demigods breaking my rules and taking over the city! Where's the order? I've had enough!"

"What do you mean, 'taking over the city'?" Percy asked.

"Don't act like you don't know, son of Neptune! Octavian and his followers! They've taken over the city and allow weapons inside the Line! Completely ignoring me! It's _my_ Line, and _my _rules!"

"We can get rid of Octavian," Percy said quickly. "If you let us get our memories back, we can retake the city and take care of Octavian. Then people will respect you and your rules."

Terminus seemed to think about this. If he could have scratched his chin, he would have. "Alright. I agree. But you must promise that you will return once you've retrieved your memories."

"I swear."

"Good. Here is your sword." The tray filled with weapons lifted up, and a pen floated out among the knives and swords and went inside Percy's pocket.

"A pen? But-"

"Leave now before I lose my temper!" Terminus shouted, an explosion erupting in Percy's face. Percy dropped the sword that he was holding, grabbed my hand, and we ran away from Terminus as fast as we could.

**Eh. Terminus was fun to write. I felt like the chapter went by too fast. I don't have an editor or a beta reader or anything, so...Ha, I don't even let my family read this. :)**

**Anyway, thanks guys for all the support! Ya'll are great!**

**I'll see you guys latah! Expect the next chapter tomorrow! I mean, I do post every day.**

**OKAY BYE.**

**R&R Terminus...**


	14. Chapter 13: Freedom

**Hi guys!**

**Sorry, no song for this chapter, today :/ I only really include songs for extremely_ dramatic_ chapters, if you know what I mean hahahahahahahahai'msoannoying.**

**So anyway, extra long chapter today. I just really felt like _writing_, if you know what I mean .**

**I am serious, though. I just felt like writing today. So this came out. A long chapter. Yay!**

**Let it commence.**

Percy

"How the heck do we get out of here?" Annabeth wheezed. It felt like we had been running in circles for hours.

We constantly had to hide inside these wooden buildings with beds, and once we had nearly been caught. We had ducked inside a room just as some guards walked by. They had seen us earlier and we'd managed to shake them off, but they had caught us. I had grabbed Annabeth's arm and thrown her under the bed and I crawled in myself. Two guards walked in, looking around.

"Where'd they go?" one guard asked.

"I saw them run in here!" the second said.

Annabeth had a vice-like grip on my arm. "Percy, what do we do?" she whispered.

I looked around under the bed and saw some shoes shoved in the corner.

"Don't move," I told her. When both the guards were poking around in the closet, I chucked the shoe out the door and it hit the opposite building with a thunk.

"I heard them!" the second guard said. They both ran out and around the corner.

"Wait a couple seconds," I said. After several killer seconds, we had jumped out from under the bed and ran in the opposite direction.

Now we were lost. This place was massive, and guards were everywhere. Apparently Frank hadn't been able to hold them off long enough, plus we'd wasted a day with Annabeth's injury.

"Wait," Annabeth said, stopping me. "There's a tunnel over there."

She was right. I saw a tunnel in the distance past a river. If we could just make it over there...

Annabeth looked at me. "How are we going to get out?"

I squinted at the river. I suddenly got an idea.

"I'm positive that there are tons of guards on both sides of the tunnel. Since I can control water, we just need to make it to the river, and I can channel it through the tunnel. It'll have to wipe out all of the guards."

Annabeth fingered the knife at her hip. She had found it in one of the rooms we'd hidden in, along with a sheath.

"Hopefully we won't have to do any combat," she said. I put my hand in my pocket, feeling the pen. This was supposed to be a sword. How? I was completely clueless. Was I supposed to stab people with the tip of the pen or something?

"Hopefully," I said. "Should we do it?"

She sighed, looking at the river. "It's our best bet."

I looked around, seeing if there were any guards. Once I'd made sure the coast was clear, I ran off towards the river, Annabeth right behind me.

"Hey, stop!"

"Percy, someone saw us!" Annabeth shouted.

"You think I don't know that?" I yelled.

"Make it to the river! I'll handle this guy."

"What?" I shouted. "You don't know how to fight!"

"I'll learn now," she replied. "Go!" She pulled out her knife and it glinted in the sunlight. She looked comfortable with it, and it fit her.

I realized I had stopped running and was staring at her. She ran after the guard, who charged. He swung wildly with the sword and she ducked gracefully, jabbing him in a chink of the armor. He howled and chopped down. She rolled out of the way and kicked his legs out from underneath. He toppled to the ground and she picked up his sword and hit him over the head, knocking him out.

My mouth was open in awe. I started choking when a fly flew in.

Annabeth looked at the guard, a confused expression on her face. She looked up and saw me staring.

"What are you doing? Go!"

"Oh, right," I mumbled. I turned around and splashed into the river. A power surged through me and I felt strong. The bruises and cuts I had gotten in the cell healed quickly. I suddenly knew what to do.

Feeling a powerful tug in my gut, the river suddenly stopped flowing. The pressure was incredible. I was almost knocked to my feet from holding the water back. When I couldn't handle it anymore, I let the water go, directing it towards the tunnel. The water was amazing. It shot towards the tunnel, roaring, and splashed through. I saw guards' eyes widen as thousands of gallons of water flew towards them, and I heard them yelling when it hit them. I willed the water to go harder and harder until I was sure it was clear. When I was done, the water fell to the ground in a tremendous _splash_. The river was now just a trickle.

I was exhausted. I turned around and saw Annabeth gaping at me, her knife lying on the ground.

"Oh, my..." she whispered.

"Come on," I said. "They won't be like this for long."

She jumped out of her trance and picked up her knife. She and I ran towards the tunnel and jumped over unconscious bodies of the guards. The tunnel was slippery, so I willed the water to separate so we wouldn't fall. I saw sunlight at the end, and we burst out, sprinting across the street and into the hills. We were free.

* * *

"Okay, so are we finding a library?" Annabeth asked.

"Yeah. I want to figure out as much as possible," I said.

"Alright," she said, and leaned back in the chair, closing her eyes. We were sitting at an outdoor cafe at a table, shaded by an umbrella. I was currently working on a large BLT, and Annabeth cleaned through a bowl of their soup of the day. We were starving when we left. We hadn't eaten in a day, and eating this sandwich was incredibly satisfying.

The waitress came out with the bill, and we handed her some cash from the backpack. Frank thought of everything.

"Um, excuse me," Annabeth said, "but could you tell us where the nearest library is?"

The waitress smiled. "Sure! The nearest is just a couple blocks down. The Oakland Public Library. It's a large building with tons of glass windows and some geometric rainbow banners on the walls. You can't miss it. Just keep heading down this street and you'll find it. Anything else I can help you with?"

"No, that's all. Thanks," I said. She nodded and went back inside the cafe.

Annabeth glanced at me, a weird look on her face. She then busied herself with messing around with the backpack.

"What? Did I do something?"

"No. _You_ didn't do something."

I raised an eyebrow. "Why are you mad?"

"I am _not_ mad," she scoffed, shooting daggers at me.

"Whatever," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "If you won't tell me, then how am I supposed to fix it?"

She rolled her eyes. "You can't fix it. It's...something else."

"What-"

"Let's just find the stupid library," Annabeth said, scooting her chair back roughly. She shouldered the backpack and started walking off in the direction the waitress said. I followed her, looking quizzically at her back.

* * *

Annabeth

That waitress ticked me off. She was acting stupid around Percy, flipping her hair and reapplying her lip gloss for the tenth time. Percy just looked at her blankly, not understanding what was going on, but I did.

Then I was mad at myself. Why did I even care? It wasn't like I _liked_ Percy. Sure, he was extremely good-looking, but sometimes he was annoying and laughed at dumb things. He always poked me in the side and grinned at everything I said.

_Ugh. Just shake it off. Just find the library. You need answers._

I stormed past a building without thinking.

"Uh, Annabeth?"

"What?" I snapped, turning around.

Percy raised his eyebrows and just pointed to the building I'd passed.

It was the library.

"I knew that. I was just seeing if you were paying attention," I said, trying to make it sound obvious.

"Yeah, okay. Come on."

He waited for me as I stalked towards him. I climbed the steps and he beat me to the top, holding the door open for me with a ridiculous smile on his face. I walked in without saying anything.

I didn't know why I was acting like this. Just seeing him sitting there with the waitress just made me feel mad.

I was jealous.

Gods, why was I jealous?

"There're some computers over there," I said, pointing at a row of humming monitors. The library was practically empty except for the librarians behind the desk and a couple browsing through the Young Adult section.

I scooted out a chair. A search engine website was already up.

"Okay, what do we need to figure out first?" I asked.

Percy pulled out the note. "The Underworld."

I typed in _Underworld_ in the box and hit enter. Hits came up, and I clicked on a Wikipedia article titled 'Greek Underworld'.

I narrowed my eyes as I read the screen:

"_The Greek underworld was made up of various realms believed to lie beneath the earth or at its farthest reaches. This includes:_

_The great pit of Tartarus, originally the exclusive prison of the old Titan gods, it later came to be the dungeon home of damned souls._

_The land of the dead ruled by the god Hades, which is variously called the house or domain of Hades, Erebus, the Asphodel Meadows (where the neutral souls are sent), Stygia and Acheron._

_The Isles of the Blessed or Elysian Fields, where the great heroes of myth resided after death._

_The Elysian Fields ruled by Rhadamanthys, where the virtuous dead and initiates in the ancient Mysteries were sent to dwell._

_The five rivers of Hades are Acheron (the river of sorrow), Cocytus (the river of lamentation), Phlegethon (the river of fire), Lethe (the river of forgetfulness) and Styx (the river of hate), which forms the boundary between upper and lower worlds._"

I sat there for a minute, thinking. Percy didn't say anything; he just stared at my drumming fingers.

"Wait a minute. The River of Forgetfulness? What if-?"

"That happened to us?" Percy finished. "Seems likely. Search Hypnos."

I typed _Hypnos_ in the search box.

"_In Greek mythology, Hypnos was the personification of sleep; the Roman equivalent was known as __Somnus,_" I read. "_His palace was a dark cave where the sun never shines._

_ At the entrance were a number of poppies and other hypnogogic plants. His dwelling has no door or gate so that he might not be awakened by the creaking of hinges._

_Hypnos' three sons or brothers represented things that occur in dreams (the Oneiroi). Morpheus, Phobetor and Phantasos appear in the dreams of kings. According to one story, Hypnos lived in a cave underneath a Greek island; through this cave flowed Lethe, the river of forgetfulness._"

"Hmm," Percy said.

A librarian suddenly walked over to us, placing either hand on our shoulders. "Can I help you dears with anything?"

I looked up. She had enormous glasses on her face, and had a floaty blouse paired with a venomous green pencil skirt.

I shook my head. "We're just working on a...school project."

"Alright. If you need anything, let me know," she said. As she straightened, her nails dug into my shoulder painfully.

"Okay," Percy said. She walked away and returned behind the desk.

Percy lowered his voice. "So all we need to do is find out how to get _inside_ the Underworld. How the heck do we find that?"

I sighed, biting my lip. "I have no idea, Percy. I wish all of this didn't happen." I tried to keep my breathing even. I wasn't going to lose it in front of Percy. All of this was just _so_ discouraging.

Percy leaned back in his chair. "Well, what do we do now?"

I turned off the computer. "Find out how to get to the Underworld. I don't think there's anything else here for us to do."

"I guess you're right. Hey! I saw an ice cream parlor on the way down here! We can get some ice cream!"

I rolled my eyes. "And how is that supposed to help us?"

"Ice cream can give inspiration."

"Ugh, whatever," I said. "Let's just get out of here."

I scooted back my chair and stood up. I was about five steps away from the door when the librarian spoke:

"Leaving so soon? You haven't checked out any books!"

"Um, we didn't need to," I said. "We found everything we needed online."

"No, no, stay! I'm sure I can find you something to check out."

"No, thank you. We've got to get home," Percy said.

"Oh, that's a shame," the librarian said.

And then she exploded.

**A small disclaimer:**

**THANK YOU TO WIKIPEDIA FOR THE ARTICLES. I ACTUALLY DID TAKE THEM FROM WIKIPEDIA, AND I AM GIVING THEM THE CREDIT THE AUTHORS DESERVE.**

**Alright. Good. **

**Thank you to everyone who hit the Favorites/Subscription! Ya'll are great :) And thank you to everyone who left me a review!**

**I don't really have anything else to say.**

**OKAY BYE.**

**R&R Annabeth's jealousy...**


	15. Chapter 14: Monster

**Hey guys! So. How are ya'll likin' the Olympics? I always look forward for the Olympics! They're _so_ cool. I watched the opening ceremonies yesterday (all 4 hours. It was insane), and I was watching women's volleyball while writing this today. So sorry if it's not too good. I was distracted.**

**Again, no song. It's kinda hard finding them sometimes. I'll try to find one for a chapter soon!**

**I know. If I can't think of a song for a chapter, I'll tell you a song that I just like listening to. Maybe I'll tell you three in this chapter. Okay. (I listen to weird music. You've been warned)**

**1. Ottoman - Vampire Weekend  
2. 1996 - The Wombats  
3. Cough Syrup - The Jakes (a note on this. Apparently they're now known as Young the Giant and they sing the song as YtG, too. I like the Jakes version better)**

**Let it commence.**

Percy

My head. My head was pounding. I groaned, touching my forehead.

"Percy?" I heard a girl's voice.

"Ugh...Annabeth?"

I opened my eyes, blinking in the harsh light. A rush of pain surged through my head again and I groaned, squeezing them shut again.

"My head..."

"It's okay. I think you'll be fine. You had a huge fall."

"What?"

"Well, a bookcase sort of fell on you," Annabeth said quickly.

"What!" I sat up and almost fell over again, a pain in my chest making me suck in air sharply.

"Don't do that. You'll just make it worse. I think you have some broken ribs."

"How did it happen?" I looked around and saw a damaged library. Books were everywhere and several cases were toppled over. The computers were smashed and the librarian's desk was caved in. There was no one in sight.

"Oh, my..."

"Yeah, it was bad," Annabeth said. I finally got a good look at her. She had a split lip and it looked like she was getting a black eye. Her shirt was ripped at the sleeve, and she had a gash on her arm. I felt stupid. Of course, I had to be the one who got knocked out.

I remembered something... There was a...thing. I had no idea what it was.

"I'll go get some of the crackers and drink," Annabeth said. She got up and walked over to the backpack. I tried to remember what happened.

* * *

The librarian exploded. Almost literally. Her form seemed to be ripped off, and underneath she had these two weird snake trunk things instead of legs. Annabeth screamed and jumped to the door.

"Not so fast," the thing hissed. It lunged out from behind the desk, breaking it apart. She slithered over and slammed against the door, blocking off the exit. Annabeth and I backed up slowly. Annabeth pulled out her knife and pointed it at the monster. It snarled at the sight of the knife. I shoved my hand in my pocket and pulled out my pen.

A pen. A useless pen.

"Percy..." Annabeth whispered.

The snake-woman jumped at us, claws extended. Annabeth and I scattered, diving to the ground. The snake thing didn't have good traction, because her snake trunks flung around wildly until she fell on her back.

Annabeth sprinted towards the door. She rattled the handles, but they were locked. The thing must have done it.

The snake-woman started to get up.

"Screw this," I said, tossing my pen away. I ran over and grabbed a chair and smashed it over her head. The chair splintered and broke apart, but she didn't seem fazed.

"Percy, run!" Annabeth screamed. I jumped away just as she swiped with her claws. I ran over to the maze of bookshelves, the monster in quick pursuit.

"No!" I heard Annabeth shriek. I whipped around and saw her jump in between me and the monster. The monster swung with her claws and she got Annabeth on the arm. If Annabeth hadn't of jumped in front of me, the monster would have gotten my neck. Seeing the blood on her arm, fury raged across Annabeth's face. She grabbed her knife and slashed it down, but the monster was too quick. She ducked out of the way, but Annabeth managed to cut its arm. The monster howled in pain.

I grabbed Annabeth and ran into the maze of bookshelves. We took wild turns until we were pressed against one of the shelves.

I suddenly felt a bulge in my pocket. Reaching my hand down, I touched the pen.

"What?" I whispered.

Annabeth's eyes widened, and she shook her head, indicating not to make a noise. We could hear the monster bashing around, knocking over computers and throwing books.

"Come out, little demigods," it crooned.

I put my hand on the cap, rubbing my thumb over it. For some reason, it felt right. Annabeth grabbed books off of the shelves and was clutching them close to her chest.

It went suddenly quiet.

We couldn't hear the monster anymore. It had stopped smashing things. It was almost as if it was waiting for us to show ourselves. My ears were perked, listening for anything. Our breathing was loud in our ears, and Annabeth tried to muffle the sound by covering her mouth. The silence was eerie. My heart was pounding, and it sounded like a drum, echoing in my ears.

I heard a slithering coming near us. I shoved Annabeth, and we sprinted behind another bookshelf.

The monster was there, and it lunged, fire in its eyes.

For some unknown reason, I felt the need to uncap my pen. While swishing it in an arc, I uncapped the pen, and an enormous bronze sword expanded out of the tip. My eyes widened. It was impossible. Absolutely impossible. Nothing like this should happen. But it was.

The monster jumped away and Annabeth threw the books at it. A book hit it straight in the face and it roared.

"Stupid demigods!" it shrieked. It jumped at me and I was knocked over, the monster on top of me. I managed to shove it off, but I fell against the bookshelf, and books rained down on me.

"Percy!" Annabeth yelled. It was the last thing I heard before the shelf fell on me.

* * *

"Ow," I said.

"It was awful," Annabeth said, walking back with the backpack in her hand. "You dropped your sword. I managed to grab it and knock the monster to the ground."

"Did you kill it?"

"I was able to get some information. Apparently monsters don't like whatever metal my knife and your sword are made out of," she said as she shoved a magical cracker in my mouth. "Once I got what I needed, I killed it. It just turned into this yellow dust. It was weird. I dragged you out of the books and got hit by a couple." She gestured to her black eye. "I…I thought you were dead. That was a huge bookcase, and you were buried under books. Thankfully I saw you barely breathing, and I gave you some of the drink."

"What did you find out?" I asked, chewing. It tasted like chocolate chip cookies.

"How to get into the Underworld."

**Would a monster know how to get in the Underworld?** **It does now!**

**Just a shorty-short chapter. I told you, I was watching the Olympics! I love the Olympics... Tell me, what's your favorite event to watch? Let me know in the reviews! I personally love watching gymnastics, men's or women's. I think they are incredible! All of the flips and ican'tevengaaaahhhh...**

**Weyell, I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**

**OKAY BYE.**

**P.S. Sorry if they seemed slightly OOC. I was reading over it, and I saw that it seemed like Annabeth was a bit wimpy and Percy was just standing there. But, this is their 'first' monster they've encountered, and Percy had no idea how to use Riptide. So yeah.**

**Kay, really bye.**


	16. Chapter 15: Awkward

**Chapter fifteen! Wee!**

**Song I like listening to (since there isn't a song for this chapter. Only songs for dramatic bits!): Headlights - Morning Parade**

**If you feel like listening to that song while reading, be my guest. It might work...eh, maybe not. It's a good song, though!**

**Let it commence.**

Annabeth

Percy started choking on the cracker, then groaned in pain. His hand flew up to his chest while he grimaced, and he leaned back down to the ground.

"You okay?" I asked. His face was turning red, but he managed to swallow the cracker.

"Yeah…fine," he muttered. "It's getting better already."

I looked nervously at the thermos. Should I give him more, or…?

"Don't. I'm fine. I'd rather not turn to ashes," Percy said, wincing as he sat up again.

"There might be an ACE bandage in here somewhere," I said, rummaging through the backpack. "We can tighten up your chest so it won't hurt as much." I suddenly froze at the thought that he'd have to go shirtless. My hand hovered over the bandage, my mind racing.

"No, I'm fine," he grunted. "Just give me a minute."

I breathed a sigh of relief. Or was it disappointment?

_Ugh! Get your mind out of the gutter!_ I yelled at myself.

"Okay," I said carefully. "Just lie down. You want your ribs to heal normally."

"Yes, doctor," he said, grinning at me from the floor.

I rolled my eyes. "Do you want to know how to get to the Underworld, or not?"

"Oh, yeah. Tell me how you figured that out."

"Like I said, I knocked the monster to the ground and held the sword at its throat. After a few choice words that I won't repeat, the monster told me that the entrance is in LA. DOA Recording Studio or something like that. Why it's a recording studio is beyond me."

"Great! When do we leave?" He started to sit up, but I pushed him back down.

"What do you think you're doing? We have to wait for you to get healed, first. We can't go across the entire state if you have busted ribs."

He scowled at me. "How do you know where LA is?"

"I looked it up," I said, pointing at the last standing computer.

"Fine. You know, I think I'm feeling better. Amazing how those crackers work."

"Okay, what would your reaction be if I hit you there?"

"You know, the view is great from the floor. You should try it some time."

"Uh huh," I said.

The room was suddenly lit up with flashing blue and red lights and these shrieking noises outside.

"What's that?" Percy asked.

"I don't know. You stay here and I'll check." I got up from the floor and walked carefully over to the glass doors. I saw several cars parked outside the door, and some men and women got out in these uniforms. They had guns.

"Trouble. We've got to get out of here." I shoved everything inside the backpack and helped Percy up. He was trying to hide the pain on his face, but I knew better.

"How are we going to get out?" he groaned. I heard footsteps on the stairs outside.

I looked around, panic settling in. They would think that we did all of this mess, and they didn't look friendly.

I saw a small door at the other side of the library. We started walking as fast as we could towards it, Percy leaning heavily on me. If we could just…

The main doors flew open, and in a panic I whipped out my hat and shoved in on Percy's head.

"Hey!" he protested.

I took a hold of his arm and we ducked behind a cart full of books.

"Police officers!" a man yelled with a badge, pointing his gun around.

"Percy," I hissed. "Get out of here. They can't see you. You can leave, and I'll find a way to get out of here."

"No way," I heard him say somewhere to my left. "I'm taking off this stupid hat and giving it to you."

"Not likely," I said, finding his head and putting my hand on top of the hat. "Get out of here and then throw the hat to me when you're near the exit. That way we can both get out."

"Start scouting the area," a woman said with a badge. "The people who did this might still be in here. Check the damage for any injured."

"Go, now!" I whispered.

I heard him get up and hobble over to the door. It was only a couple yards behind us. Glancing around to see if any of the _police officers_ were nearby, I turned around and saw Percy toss the hat to me. He was standing in between the doorway. I started to crawl towards it.

"Over there!"

Jumping to my feet, I sprinted towards the hat and scooped it up, smashing it on my head.

"What the-?" I heard a gunshot behind me, and I ducked down and saw wood splinter when the bullet hit.

I made the last few steps toward the door and burst through, grabbing Percy's arm and diving in the decorative bushes by the door.

Police streamed through the door, looking around. We peered up through the leaves.

"She got away. Looks like she had an accomplice. Scout the surrounding area. She might've had a getaway car. Look for anything suspicious," an officer ordered. Three police officers ran off to their cars.

"Let's assess the damages," the officer said, and they walked back inside.

I let out the air I was holding and took off the hat.

"Well, that was fun," Percy said. "I'm glad you took off the hat, though. I felt like I was in here by myself."

"Come on, Seaweed Brain. Are your ribs okay? Because we've got to get out of here."

"They're fine. I might need just a _small_ corner of a cracker though. They aren't healing fast enough."

"No. I'm too afraid to do that. We'll have to get the bandage on you."

"Fine," he muttered. "I feel like I'm slowing us down."

I fumbled around in the backpack for the ACE bandage with what little arm space I had. My elbow barely hit Percy's chest and he sucked in sharply.

"Sorry, sorry! Here, I've got it."

I looked around one more time, and then stepped out, helping Percy up. We walked carefully over to a small patch of grass out of sight of the library.

"Uh…" I said stupidly.

"What?" He smirked.

"Nothing," I said, pushing away the awkwardness. "Can you get your shirt off by yourself?"

He tried to raise his arms, but he pulled them quickly down. "Ow, ow. Er, no."

"Okay," I said, saying it more to myself. I set down the backpack and took the bottom of his shirt in my hands, trying hard not to blush. I lifted it gingerly over his head, making sure not to bump him. His arms went up, and I felt him tense, but he didn't say anything. When his arms came back down, I tried avoiding looking at his bare chest. He was fit. Like, _really_ fit. And tan. Was that a…six pack?

_Stop being such a perv_, I screamed at myself.

He seemed slightly embarrassed, too, but he tried to smirk it off.

"Not every day you see a guy shirtless?" he asked.

"Stop being an idiot, Percy," I said, avoiding his gaze. I busied myself by unraveling the bandage.

"Okay," I said to myself again. "Okay, lift up your arms a bit so I can get this bandage around you."

He did it silently, and I pressed the bandage to his chest, being careful not to touch his skin. I looped it around his body, and my fingers brushed his back. I felt goosebumps erupt on his skin, and I quickly jerked my hands away. Once I managed to get it around him tightly, I used the clip to stick it in place.

"You can put your arms down," I said.

"Thank you, Doctor Chase," he said seriously.

"Yeah, yeah," I said, tossing the shirt at him a bit harder than necessary. "Just put your shirt back on. Your ribs shouldn't hurt so much anymore."

He slid the shirt back on, and I swung the backpack on my shoulder.

"Let's find a bus that can take us to LA. I think we have some money in our backpack," I said.

He grinned. "DOA Recording Studios here we come!"

**AGH I SHIP THEM SO HARD.**

**Haha, that was such a fun chapter to write! Especially Annabeth's awkwardness about the shirt. I can't remember who said this, but a reviewer wanted Annabeth to check Percy out. Was that good? Hehehehe.**

**Anyway, I'll see you guys soon with the next chapter! Don't forget to drop me a review and tell me what you think :)**

**OKAY BYE.**

**R&R Annabeth's awkwardness...**


	17. Chapter 16: Dream

**Hello, everyone! How are we doing today? Good? Good.**

**Okay, anyway, here is Chapter 16.**

**Let it commence.**

Percy

We managed to find a bus station and get tickets for a bus to LA. Once we got our tickets we walked outside and boarded the bus. My chest was still slightly throbbing, but the bandage was working.

I couldn't stop seeing Annabeth's face in my mind when she pulled off my shirt. She was already blushing furiously, and when she found out that she had to take off my shirt, I thought she was going to keel over. It was slightly funny, but my ribs hurt and I felt embarrassed, too. I couldn't even take my freaking shirt off! And when she wrapped the bandage around me and her fingers brushed my back…I could just feel the goose bumps again. Her fingers were warm.

She got on the bus before me.

"Where should we sit?" she asked, looking around.

"I don't know, but dibs on the window seat!" I said quickly.

She pouted. "I wanted the window seat…"

"Sorry, dibs," I said.

She sighed. "Fine."

I tried to push past her in the aisle, but it was too small. She fell backwards into a seat and I grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back up. She tried to right herself with out my help, and it just caused her to slam into my ribs.

"Agh." I hissed through my teeth.

"Oh, my gods! I'm so sorry!" she said. "Maybe I'll give you some of the cracker."

"No," I grunted. "I'm fine. Just a little…bruised. What kind of elbows do you even have?"

"Stop whining and get your stupid window seat."

I tried to hide a grin and got a seat near the back.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Annabeth said, looking worried. "What if something bad happens? Like, another monster?"

I looked around. "There's an emergency exit door in the back. We can book it out of there."

She nodded, her eyebrows still scrunched together, and sat down next to me.

Man, she looked cute when she was worried.

What the heck? Where did that come from? Get a grip.

The doors closed and the bus lurched forward. There weren't that many people on the bus, so I was able to put my seat back and lean against the window. I yawned hugely.

"You know, it's a long drive to LA, so I'm just gonna…" I mumbled.

"Go to sleep, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said, smirking at me.

"But what if you want someone to talk to?"

"Trust me, your conversation gets boring after a while. Just go to sleep. I'll be fine."

"If you insist," I said, closing my eyes.

The last thing I saw before sleep took over was her rolling her eyes before leaning forward to the seat in front of us, resting her head on it.

_Her hair's really pretty_, I thought drowsily.

* * *

I stood at a beach, facing the water. It lapped gently onto the shore, and I could feel the ocean's power from where I stood. It was nighttime.

I heard singing behind me. I turned and saw firelight flickering through the trees. Curious, I started to walk forward, but then I heard someone behind me.

It was a man. He had black hair and beard, and was wearing a printed Hawaiian shirt with khaki Bermuda shorts. He had a hat on with fishing lures that said NEPTUNE'S LUCKY FISHING HAT. He was barefooted.

He smiled at me. "Ignorance is sometimes a blessing, is it not?" He gestured to the trees to where the singing was coming from. "They know not to what has happened to you and your friends."

"Who are you?" I asked. "Where am I?"

He just remained smiling. "I think you already know the answer to one of your questions."

"You're…my father, Poseidon."

He walked towards me and put an arm around my shoulders. "Walk with me? I don't have long before Zeus finds out."

We started to walk along the beach, leaving behind the singing and the firelight.

"I'm here to give you advice, and a gift," Poseidon said, staring off at the ocean. "It's incredible how events can turn in the opposite direction. I'll admit, I did not see all of this coming. A large wave can be the beginning of a storm, Percy."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You're memory loss. It was lurking in the shadows, hiding. The plan was well concealed. Even us gods did not see it."

"Is that your advice? About the ocean?"

"Partially. The other…is uncomfortable to talk about. You are near something great. Something that can make you a better person. Don't let it get away. It could become lost forever if you don't understand and make the move. You've made a great choice, Percy. Even if other's don't approve."

"I don't understand," I said, confused.

He chuckled. "I think you do. You're smarter than you look."

"Thanks—I, hey!"

He let out a laugh and the ocean surged. "You're smart, Percy. Very smart. And now for the gift."

He bent over and picked up a small drawstring bag in the sand. He placed it in my hands.

"You will need this for later. I think you'll know when."

"Why are you telling me stuff that you think I already know?" I asked, feeling slightly frustrated.

He chuckled again. "Sometimes people just need a slight…push, in the right direction. I'm here to give you that, even if it is vague hints."

"Well, thanks," I said, slightly sarcastic.

"So much like you're mother," Poseidon murmured. Thunder suddenly rumbled across the sky. "I've been here too long. Remember what I've said."

He patted me on the back and walked backwards into the ocean and seemed to melt away into the water, leaving me standing alone on the beach, holding the bag, and feeling more confused than ever.

* * *

I woke up blearily, rubbing my eyes. Something smacked in me in the eye, and after letting out a curse, squinted in the faint light to see what it was. It was a string from a bag. The same green drawstring bag in my dream.

Huh. Weird.

It was dark outside, and lights flickered on inside the bus. My cheek was pressed against the cool glass, and I unstuck it, rubbing it to get warmth.

I looked around, and realized something.

Annabeth was using me as a pillow.

Her head was in my lap, and she had twined her arms around my legs. After getting over the general shock, it was kind of nice. Her legs stuck out in the aisle, and her shirt was slightly riding up. I gently pulled it down and she rolled over so her face was pressed against my stomach and she tucked her arms in between us.

Her hair fell into her face and I brushed it away. People always looked so peaceful when they were asleep, including Annabeth, no matter how much she acted like she thought I was an idiot.

Annabeth was beautiful, including the small string of drool that was coming out of her mouth and onto my shirt.

She ran her tongue over her lips, and realizing that she was waking up, I leaned against the window and pretended to be asleep again. I didn't want her to know that I was watching her. I cracked my eyes open a sliver, just to see what she was doing.

She rubbed her eyes, and sat up, her hair everywhere. She looked around blearily, and then noticed what she had done. Her cheeks went slightly pink, but she brushed her hair in a ponytail.

Annabeth looked at me, and satisfied that I was 'asleep', she leaned forward in her seat and looked me over. Here eyes settled on my shirt and the spot of drool she left behind.

She clapped a hand to her mouth. "Oh, gods."

I decided to 'wake up'. I shifted around in my seat and sat up, rubbing my eyes. I looked around and saw her staring at me.

"Good morning," I said.

"Er, hi," she said, still pink.

"What, is there something on my face?" I asked, pretending to be confused. I looked around and then saw the spot of drool on my shirt.

"Did you _drool_ on me? Wait, wait, so that means that you were using me as a pillow!"

She tried to look annoyed. "Everyone drools, Seaweed Brain."

"Yeah, you're right," I agreed. "But I don't drool _on_ people."

She punched me in the arm and I pretended to get hurt. "Ah! That hit my ribs!"

Color drained from her face. "Oh, my gods! I'm so sorry! Here, I'll get you some—"

I lost my composure and I started laughing. "That was too easy!" I said between laughs.

"You're dead, Percy Jackson," she said, eyes narrowing.

"Yeah, and what are you going to do?"

Annabeth leaned toward me, but before she could do anything I remembered something.

"I had a weird dream," I said, holding up my hands to protect myself.

"A _dream_. You think that can distract me from—"

"No, I'm serious. My dad was in it."

"You're dad?" she asked, moving back to her seat.

"Yeah, he gave me something," I said, pulling out the bag from the backpack.

"Where did you get that?" she asked, taking the bag from me.

"I just told you, my dad gave it to me."

"No, that's not possible. How can he give you something in a dream and then you have it in reality?"

I shrugged. "Well, he is a _god_."

"I guess…" Annabeth said, turning it over in her hands. "Have you opened it?"

"No, not yet. I just remembered I had it."

She tugged at the strings and the bag fell open. Inside were tons of these weird gold coins.

"Coins?" she asked, pulling one out to examine.

"He said we'd need it soon. I don't know what for, though."

"Huh," she said, putting it back. She tightened the strings and handed it back to me. "I'd be careful with something like that. If it really is from your dad, it has to be important."

I was about to answer when a voice crackled over the intercom. "Everyone, we've made it to LA. Thanks for traveling with us," the driver said. He pulled into a parking lot and everyone stood up.

"Well, here we are," I said. "Let's find the Underworld."

**Huzzah for long chapters! They're the best.**

**I don't really have anything to say. Eh, eh, eh...there's nothing else I can say.**

**Sorry about that. Quoting Lady GaGa is a personal low. I apologize.**

**I'll see you guys soon with a new chapter!**

**Oh, and I wanted to say thank you to **Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm569 **(did I get enough 'm's? ;) for the nice review that you gave me both on Missing and Forgotten. You're so awesome :)**

**Oh, and their username really doesn't have that many m's. I was just doing that to be stupid.**

**Review for lame flirting in the story!**

**OKAY BYE.**


	18. Chapter 17: Trouble

**Oh. Em. Gee.**

**100 REVIEWS! AAAHHH! YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING! ASDFLA;SDFLGKAHS;DFLAJSLDKGJ**

**As a reward for your awesomeness, I have a bonus chapter for yoouuu!**

**Also (I realize that this is not PJO related), a very very happy birthday to Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling! (yesterday. I made them a cake that looked like the one Harry got in the first movie, green icing and all! It was delicious. I think I'm going to eat more.) Without you guys, I wouldn't have had a childhood. Also, I believe Harry is now 32…? Gah, that's insane.**

**Moving on.**

**The reason why I didn't post yesterday (I was planning to!) was because, first I was making the cake. It took FOREVER. I didn't just do a cake mix guys, it was the real deal. Chocolate chocolate chocolate chocolate everything. Chocolate cake, chocolate frosting, chocolate glaze. But _so_ worth it.**

**Also, I was chillin' with my friends yesterday. I kinda needed it, too. During this entire summer, I've basically been sitting on my butt on the couch melting in front of the TV, either watching the Olympics or staring at nothing. I've done _no_ socializing pretty much at all the entire summer. I needed to get out of the house big time. I'm glad I did, or I would've gone insane.**

**Just to freak myself out, school starts in 20 days! Agh!**

**Let it commence.**

Octavian

Everything was going perfectly. Annabeth Chase was knocked out as the effects of the Lethe worked on her brain, and Percy Jackson had finally consumed the Lethe himself, after a slight scuffle. He was also unconscious, and lying next to the girl.

Octavian strutted out of the cell, snapping his fingers so the guard would follow him.

"I'll be looking over the guards in the city. Follow me. We don't know if any of the civilians will fight back, so I'll need protection," he said as he strode down the corridor.

The guard nodded in response and hefted his spear.

The two of them mounted the steps to leave the dungeon and entered into the sunlight. Octavian could not help but smile to himself. He'd managed to get to Jackson, the city was his, and he was finally getting the recognition he deserved. The patron was right. He was underappreciated, and no one saw him as a threat. They're all biting their tongues, now. Because he was underestimated, Octavian managed to come out of the shadows. No one expected him to do something like this. He was finally powerful.

And a good thing, too. He was slightly grateful for the underestimation. Without it, he wouldn't have been able to accomplish this.

Octavian and the guard went to inspect the First Cohort. Most of them were on his side, and those who weren't were sent immediately to the dungeon.

The look on Reyna's face…she never even saw it coming. Octavian's soldiers had quickly incapacitated her and her followers, and quickly shut up Leo, too. They were now currently underneath the city in the sewage system, chained to the walls. They'd never get out.

Just as Octavian was shouting at a soldier because he wasn't wearing his helmet, another soldier burst through a door and sprinted over.

"They've…they've escaped. Frank…"

"_What_?" Octavian shrieked.

"I—"

"Must I do everything here myself?" he yelled, pushing over the guard. He rounded on the line he was inspecting. "Double the guards, double the security! _They cannot escape_! If they do…" he let the threat hang. The Romans jumped and ran off, shouting orders and pushing over each other.

Octavian rubbed his temples. And today was such a good day…

* * *

Octavian walked down the tunnel to the cave, but this time, he wasn't strutting. He was practically hugging the wall for support. He had a feeling that this wasn't going to be good.

The only thing that made him feel better is that he wasn't summoned to report. That would've turned out disastrous. He was coming down to tell her straight away. Better to ask forgiveness—he hoped.

He didn't run into any sentries like the first time, but he still held his dagger tightly, checking around every corner.

The two guards standing by the door didn't say anything when Octavian approached. All they did was turn their heads when he opened the door. He shivered.

Octavian entered the empty room and stood as closest to the door as he could without his back touching it. The dirt suddenly bubbled and churned, and the image of a sleeping woman formed.

_Why are you here? _she hissed in his mind.

"I-I have some bad news," he said, cursing himself for stuttering.

Gaea didn't answer.

"Things didn't turn out the way I'd—_we'd_—hoped." He took a deep breath. "Percy Jackson escaped."

A wordless scream erupted in his mind. Octavian clapped his hands to his ears and fell to the ground, writhing.

_HE WHAT?_

Octavian shakily stood up, using the wall for support. He didn't get to stand up for very long.

The ground sucked him in. It became the consistency of water, and he fell into the muddy mess until he was up to his chin. It hardened instantly.

"Gaea, Lady Gaea—" he began, lifting his head up so he could breathe.

_ENOUGH! You've failed me! _

"Please…please, I've sent out guards to find them. And they'll return. We'll be ready for them."

She seemed to think about this.

_This is your last chance, boy. If you fail me again, it'll be your whole body in the ground._

He was catapulted out of the ground and fell to a heap on the stone floor.

_Leave me. Get out of my sight._

After giving her a jerk of a bow, he backed out of the room. Once the door was closed and he was out of sight of the guards, he ran as fast as he could out of the cave.


	19. Chapter 18: Underworld

**And now here's the real chapter for today! I wrote these in advance so now you're getting two updates in like, five minutes! Huzzah.**

**THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THE 100 REVIEWS. MY MONTH WAS COMPLETELY MADE. ASDJAKSASDKJSDASD**

**Let it commence.**

Annabeth

I snapped shut the third phonebook I'd checked that day with a frustrated sigh. "I _can't_ believe this. It's like this place doesn't even exist!"

We were sitting on a bench on top of a boardwalk. It was almost nighttime, we didn't have a place to stay, and we'd been looking for hours. We'd asked the friendlier-looking pedestrians if they knew where it was, but they just stared at us blankly. We then decided to get as many phonebooks as possible and start searching, but there was nothing.

"What, the recording studio or the Underworld?" Percy said, not looking up from a thick Yellowpages.

"They're the same thing, Percy," I groaned.

"No, I meant the building or—you know what, never mind. I don't feel like explaining it."

"Good, because I'm trying to read," I snapped, throwing the stupid book on the boardwalk.

I saw Percy roll his eyes, but I didn't say anything. I just stared at a forgotten ice cream cone that was melting on the wood. I wondered how long that'd been there. A seagull dropped from the sky and started pecking at the cone. When it looked at me, it had mint chocolate chip ice cream dripping off its beak. It squawked and flew away.

"This is hopeless," Percy said suddenly, slamming the book shut. I jumped and realized that I was still staring that the receding figure of the bird.

"Yeah, yeah," I said absentmindedly. "Completely hopeless."

"Well, now what are we going to do? Find out a place to stay for the night, or wander the streets until we get mugged?"

I sat there thinking for a minute. When I didn't answer, Percy stared at me.

"You aren't seriously thinking about that? I was joking!"

"No, no, I think I have an idea," I muttered. "Do you think your dad will answer a prayer?"

"I don't think so. I just had a dream from him, and he already gave me something. This, remember?" He held up the bag of coins and shook it.

"Maybe my mom will," I said, my mind churning. Would she?

Percy scratched his head. "Only one way to find out."

"Okay…alright." For some reason, I had a feeling of nervousness in my gut. Would she even answer? Percy's dad seemed to really like him, considering he had a whole conversation with him in a dream, _and_ he got a gift that would help us in the future. I'd gotten nothing from my mom.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. _Mom, I really need help right now. Percy and I do. We're lost and we don't know where to go. Can you please give us guidance? Let us know where to go._

I cracked an eye open, expecting a revelation or a flash of light, or maybe a hovering arrow pointing us in the right direction.

There was nothing.

"Did you do it?" Percy asked.

I sighed. "I got nothing. I really thought she was going to answer. I guess I was wrong"

Before Percy could even reply, a bright orange paper flew out of nowhere and smacked him in the face.

I put a hand to my mouth to keep me from laughing. His face was priceless. He pried the paper off his face, which didn't seem to want to come off, and looked at it. His mouth opened and after staring at it for a long time, handed the paper to me.

"What is it?" I asked, taking the paper from him. I glanced down and saw DOA RECORDING STUDIOS printed in big bold letters at the top of the page. My jaw dropped.

"It worked!" I shouted, jumping to my feet. "She answered!"

Percy grinned as I read the rest of the paper. Underneath in italics it read: _We're always looking for new talent!_

"There's even a map!" I grabbed Percy's hands and pulled him up. "We're going to get our memories back!" Then, I did something that surprised both me and him.

I hugged him. Hard.

"Gah, Annabeth," he gasped. "My ribs…"

I jumped away and pulled out the baggie of crackers. I broke off a tiny corner and shoved it in his mouth. As he chewed, a look of relief spread on his face. He put his hands up his shirt and pulled off the bandage.

"Much better," he sighed, rolling it up.

I hugged him again.

He grabbed my shoulders and studied me. "Who are you and what have you done with Annabeth? I didn't think you were capable of showing emotion other than annoyance. Mostly toward me."

I took his hands off my shoulders. "Let's just get to the recording studio. I want to get my memories."

* * *

"Are you _sure_ that this is the right place?" I asked for the seventeenth time.

Percy glanced at me, looking annoyed. "Annabeth, it says DOA RECORDING STUDIOS on the building and the door. It's obviously the right place."

Stenciled on the glass doors in thick lettering: NO SOLICITORS. NO LOITERING. NO LIVING.

"I guess it is."

Percy rolled his eyes. "Now let's stop _loitering_ and just get this over with." He pushed open the doors and we walked inside.

A shiver ran through my spine. The place was eerie. There were people everywhere, standing up, sitting on the black leather couches, even sitting on the floor. Music played softly in the background, but other than that it was deathly silent.

Uh, excuse the pun.

When I looked at the people straight on, they seemed to turn transparent, and I could see right through their bodies. I realized that these were spirits waiting to get into the Underworld.

It looked like the elevator was out of service or something, because no one was pushing the buttons or getting on, so we walked over to a raised platform. A huge man was standing behind it. His hair was bleached blond, cut short, and he was extremely tanned. He had on a fancy silk Italian suit, black reflective sunglasses, and a rose was pinned to the breast pocket above a silver name tag.

He looked at us, and I had no idea what to do. It was like I was frozen to the spot, and my mind went blank.

"Um, Mr. Charon, sir," Percy said, reading the nametag. "We'd like to go to the Underworld, please."

He leaned over the desk. "Don't I know you two from somewhere? Where's your goaty friend? And how did you make it out of here alive?"

I glanced at Percy and he shrugged his shoulders. "Uh, I don't know," I said. "We just—"

"I _have_ seen you before," he said. "Did you finally die?"

"Uh—" Percy started.

"I can only let you down if you pay me. I take American Express, and we've added a new card, Visa. Have you gotten one of those, yet?"

"No—" I began.

He suddenly scrunched up his face, and then stared at us. I felt like a hole was being burned in my chest.

"You're still alive!" he practically shouted. "Why do you keep coming here?"

"You see—"

"Leave, now! Or else I'll get a hellhound up here and escort you out."

"Wait!" Percy yelled. "Do you take these?" He opened the backpack and pulled out the bag of coins we'd gotten from his dad.

His face suddenly looked eager. "Lemme see those. Even more than before," he said, stretching out a hand.

Percy pulled them back. "Only if you let us in the Underworld."

"Still the same," he muttered. "Why should I? Last time I did, Hades yelled at me for ages. Said I was ungrateful when I wanted a pay raise."

"You can have the entire bag. We don't need it," I said quickly. "And we won't mention anything to Hades."

"Well, I was able to buy a new suit the first time. Could always use another," he said, looking down at his silk jacket. "Alright, fine. We'll see if you get out of here alive this time, though." He took the bag from Percy's hands and gave us a wicked grin.

* * *

We stepped off of the boat with the spirits and stood on the shore.

"Thank you mighty for the tip," Charon said. "Maybe I'll see in the lobby soon." He took his pole and floated away down the polluted river.

The spirits pushed past us as they walked down a worn path, but Percy and I just stood there.

"Where the heck do we go now?" Percy asked. "And how did he know who we were?"

"I'm guessing we've been here before," I said. "Except I don't know who our 'goaty friend' is."

"Maybe you had a pet goat."

I punched him.

"Let's just follow the spirits, and if that's the wrong direction, we can come back. We've got to find the River Lethe. That's where Hypnos is," I said.

Percy rubbed his arm. "Alright. But don't punch so hard next time."

"Come on, Seaweed Brain," I said, walking down the path and leaving him behind.

"Hey!" he exclaimed as he ran to catch up. "Don't leave me here!"

We walked down the path and came upon a large open cavern. It was massive, enormous, _huge_, and stuffed full of dead spirits. They were standing in three lines, one with a sign that said EZ DEATH, and two others that said ATTENDANT ON DUTY.

I was completely speechless, but managed to say, "This is organized."

A howl suddenly erupted at the end of the cavern, and then what sounded and felt like mini earthquakes. It was coming towards us. I immediately grabbed Percy's arm.

"What is that?" I whispered.

Out of the mist emerged an enormous dog. With three heads. _Three heads_. Spirits screamed and jumped out of the way as it carved a path towards us, and it had drool coming out of all three mouths.

"It's coming to us!" Percy said.

"You think I don't know that?" I hissed. I started to walk backwards down the path, dragging Percy with me. "Let's just walk away slo—"

The dog stopped in front of us, and it's hot breath hit us, and it smelled disgusting.

I screamed and grabbed Percy and put him in front of me as a shield.

"Don't…move…" I whispered. "Back away."

The middle head stuck its tongue out, and I heard a thumping from behind it. Was that it's…_tail_?

"Good boy?" Percy said weakly. Six eyes swiveled toward him, and two mouths started to growl. The middle head was still looking at me expectantly.

"Annabeth," Percy said out of the corner of his mouth. "I think it knows you."

"Me?" I squeaked.

"Go…calm it down. It doesn't like me."

I moved Percy out of my way with shaky hands. "Nice doggie?" I managed to get out.

It sat down and leaned forward on its front paws, tail still wagging. All nine eyes were on me.

"H-Hello," I said, voice trembling. I stretched out a hand and it started sniffing it. It then licked me. All of me.

"Gah!" I gasped, drenched in dog drool.

Squeezing my eyes shut, praying it wouldn't bite off my hand, I patted its nose.

The other two heads whined. I patted theirs, too.

"Okay, we've got to find Lethe," I told it, feeling a bit more confident. I had no idea if it knew what I was saying, but I thought it was worth a shot. "Could you take us there?"

The dog shot to its feet and jumped over us, loping down the path we'd just come from.

Percy hid a smile behind his hand, looking at my hair, which was sticking up from the drool.

I glared at him. "Shut up, Percy. Just follow the dog."

"I didn't say anything," he said, holding up his hands, still grinning.

We walked back down the path where the three-headed dog was waiting for us. When it saw us, it ran off along the bank of the river. We had to run to keep up with it, and we skidded to a halt in front of a massive cavern where the dog was waiting for us. Blood-red poppies were growing at the opening of the cavern, and I started to feel drowsy looking at them.

Out of the cavern flowed another river, but this one looked different. It was milky white, and didn't flow quickly like the polluted one that we'd sailed on. It came out slowly, almost leisurely, and the water looked extremely thick. Just standing by the river made my mind go hazy.

"Thank you," I managed to get out to the dog. I pressed a hand to my forehead. It was starting to pound insanely.

The dog wagged its tail once and ran off, leaving behind craters where its paws landed in the soft dirt.

Percy took my hand and squeezed, and I saw that it looked like he was going to collapse from the power of the river and the poppies.

"Are you ready?" he said.

"As I'll ever be," I replied.

I squeezed his hand back, and we entered the cave.

**Woohoo! Our heroes are ever closer to retrieving their memories! We'll see what happens next when Forgotten - Chapter 19 comes out...sometime soon.**

**I haven't written it yet XD hahahahahaha**

**I'll see you guys soon!**

**OKAY BYE.**

**R&R Cerberus**


	20. Chapter 19: Darkness

**Hey...guys.**

**Okay, sorry, sorry! I know it's been a while! I don't really have much of an excuse, though...I didn't really do anything with my life the past week. I was just like this zombie, so I didn't post. It wasn't like I didn't _want_ to post, I just...didn't.**

**Song that I listen to: Home - Phillip Phillips**

**Anyway! I have a chapter for you, and that's all that matters, right? Right? hahahahahahaha.**

**Let it commence.**

Percy

I was glad that I was holding Annabeth's hand. I had been feeling faint from the river—probably because it was the thing that took away my memories in the first place—and I had unconsciously grabbed her hand for support. I had breathed a sigh of relief when she didn't pull back. Her hands were slightly calloused, and I guessed that was from using a knife for so long.

It was weird to think that she and I were supposed to be dating, and that we'd known each other for a long time. How was I supposed to act around her? Was I supposed to show affection toward her at all, or should I just pretend it never happened?

I decided to stop thinking about it. It was just making me feel strange, and we had a creepy dark cave ahead of us that I needed to worry about.

The Lethe was still running out from the cave, and we walked on a rock shelf that was above it. I could still feel its power from where I was standing, but holding Annabeth's hand, I didn't feel as affected by it. My headache had started to fade, and the scent of the poppies wasn't making me feel like I should just curl up on the ground and sleep for twenty years.

"What do you think we'll find?" Annabeth asked. "What will happen? Do you think there's some sort of guardian?"

"One question at a time," I groaned, slowing down. Apparently, holding Annabeth's hand didn't hold off the headache for very long.

Suddenly the light at our backs winked out, and we were submerged in darkness. The slushy sound from the Lethe was all we heard, and it was eerie.

"I think there's a flashlight in the backpack," Annabeth said. She let go of my hand, and a rush of pain took over my head. If there was light in the tunnel, I would have seen stars.

I fell against the side of the tunnel, my hand gripping my hair. Why was this happening? Annabeth didn't seem to be in any pain at all. Maybe it was because I was so exposed to the Lethe. Being so near to it gave me a headache. I could almost feel my thoughts get sucked out my head and get taken over by the sheer power of the river.

"Here we go," I heard Annabeth say. A faint click sounded, and the tunnel was filled with a dim artificial light.

She shone it around. The walls were slick with splashes of water, and it looked like the tunnel went on forever. The darkness swallowed the light after a few feet. There would be no way to tell if there was something coming after us until it would be in our faces.

The beam fell on me, and I squeezed my eyes shut.

"Percy, are you okay? You look awful."

"Oh, no," I said sarcastically. "I just enjoy feeling my head pound with every step I take. Thanks for asking."

"Hey, stop. I don't know what else to do, alright?"

"Take my hand," I said, sticking it out.

"I—what?"

"Just take it. And move the light out of my face. It's making my head hurt worse."

I felt her take my hand again, and the pounding headache subsided. I sighed, feeling better.

"Sorry I snapped at you," I said. "For some reason, you holding my hand makes my heard hurt less."

I saw her blush slightly. "Same to you."

We walked a couple more minutes in silence. I started to think about the questions that Annabeth had asked me before. What _would_ we find? What _will_ happen? Would Hypnos even agree to give our memories back, or would it be impossible?

I closed my eyes again, letting Annabeth guide me. I shouldn't let these thoughts rattle me. If it didn't work out, I would just think of something to do with my life. Come up with some sort of plan. I didn't know where I would go, let alone find my family—if I had one.

I shouldn't let _these_ thoughts freak me out either. Just focus on the task at hand.

Annabeth interrupted my thoughts for the second time.

"Do you—do you hear that?"

I opened my eyes—I forgot that I had closed them—and strained my ears. There was this strange rushing sound, and then it sounded like it was being sucked in. I felt my hair stand on end.

"I don't know," I said quietly. Her grip tightened on my hand.

As we walked through the cave, the sound got steadily louder and louder until it was roaring in our ears.

Annabeth's eyes suddenly widened in surprise. "I think I know what the sound is."

"What?"

"Breathing."

I felt goosebumps rise on my arms. "Breathing?"

"Hypnos is the god of sleep, right? And this is his cave. It makes sense."

I had to agree with her.

"I just hope it doesn't get any louder. At least he's not snoring," I said.

I realized that we had been whispering the entire time.

The cave suddenly rounded a corner, and, my skin prickling, we turned.

It seemed the darkest yet, and the light from the flashlight seemed to be sucked away and absorbed in the darkness. The breathing was loud, and it echoed in our ears and off the walls. Annabeth shone the flashlight around, but there was no one in the cavern. The breathing was at its loudest, but there was no one in sight. Pillows were scattered all around the cavern, and the Lethe was running down the stone walls silently before pooling on the ground and turning into the river.

"Where is he?" I mouthed.

Annabeth shrugged. She cleared her throat.

"Uh, Mr. Hypnos, sir? We've come to ask a favor," she said loudly.

The breathing was cut off immediately, and the silence pressed against our ears. We sat there in the silence for several minutes waiting for a response.

Nothing.

"Hello?" I called.

An agitated sigh echoed in the cavern, and out of nowhere, a man materialized in the middle of the room. He had messy dark hair, and his eyes were like black pits, and they sucked up the light. They weren't scary, though. I thought I could see twinkling inside of them, like small stars. Wings were on his shoulders, and he was frowning at us.

"If this is another complaint about Clovis, so help me—" he started, folding his arms. His wings rustled, and several feathers floated to the ground.

"No," Annabeth interrupted, holding up her hands. His scowl deepened. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. "We need your help."

He sat down on a pillow, crossing his legs. "If you want my help, turn off that confounded flashlight. I can't help you if I can't even see you."

Annabeth looked confused, but clicked it off. We were thrown into the darkness, and I couldn't see a thing.

"Much better," he sighed. "Now I can actually see you. What do you want? You just woke me up from a five month nap, you know."

"Uh, sorry. And how can you see us? It's dark," I said.

He sighed again, sounding really annoyed. "I'm getting tired of all your questions, and I don't like getting woken up. Maybe a dip in the Lethe would help." The sound of the river surged, getting louder.

"No! No, no, that won't be necessary," Annabeth said quickly. "That's actually, uh, why we came to talk to you. We need your help."

"Just get to the point, girl. Children of Athena, I swear…"

"How did you—?" Annabeth said, surprise in her voice. "Never mind. I'm Annabeth Chase, and this is Percy Jackson."

"I love what you've done with the place," I said weakly.

"Oh, yes. I've heard about you," Hypnos said, ignoring what I said. It was weird talking to him when I couldn't even see anything. "You're the guy Hera messed with. She just doesn't know how to keep her nose out of things. Completely rude. Took your memories. But I reckon you've gotten them back. Gorgon blood."

"How do you know all this?" I asked. Even I didn't know what he was talking about.

"Dreams are incredible things, Perseus Jackson. They hold the answers to everything. Many of the world's geniuses came up with their answers through dreams. And, of course, a little help from me."

"Then you must know what's happened to us," Annabeth said. "We've lost our memories through the power of Lethe. We thought you might be able to help us, because Lethe is your symbol."

There was no answer. Hypnos didn't say anything, and I thought that he was going to knock us out with nightmares because we'd annoyed him.

"Can you?" Annabeth asked.

"Why should I do this?" he asked suddenly. His voice was sharp, and I felt a chill run up my spine. My eyelids started to get heavy, and I was about to collapse when Annabeth squeezed my hand.

Annabeth faltered. "I-I don't know. We had a note…and we—"

Her voice was choked off and she gasped. Her hand went slack in mine, and I heard a clatter on the ground.

The flashlight. She'd dropped it.

I snatched it off the ground and clicked it on.

Hypnos was standing in front of Annabeth, and he had his thumb pressed on her forehead, his other hand holding the back of her head. Her mouth was open, and her eyes were shining with tears. He had a look of concentration on his face.

"What are you doing?!" I yelled. Annabeth let out a little moan.

"The mind is amazing," Hypnos said. A light was starting to glow under his thumb on Annabeth's forehead. "So many nooks and crannies, places where things can be hidden. Lethe, of course, wipes it completely clean. Leaves you helpless, alone, and completely useless. Somehow, you've managed to retain some of your memories. You've gotten down here, found me. You still know how to fight. You know how to read. Something blocked the Lethe from taking it all away."

"Was it you?" I asked.

"No. I don't understand the power behind this." He sounded confused. "Perhaps there's more to you two than meets the eye…or the mind."

He removed his hands and Annabeth crumpled to the ground.

"What did you do?" I cried, shining the light in his face. The black pits of his eyes didn't look so friendly anymore.

"I've found your cause worthy. I simply searched her mind, and you both are strong enough to handle what will come later."

"Is she getting her memories back?"

"No. She is just sleeping. It was mentally exhausting for her, what I did to her. I need you to…do something for me, first."

"What is it?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"There is a beast that terrorizes the world above. I need you to dispose of it, and bring back the spoil of war to me. That way, I'll know that you've gotten rid of it. Only then will I return your memories."

I tried to hold back a yell of frustration. "What's the animal?"

"The _leukrokottas_. A horrible thing. Do you agree?"

I looked at Annabeth, who was lying on the ground. "Fine. How will we get back to you? I don't really want to deal with Charon again."

He held out his hand, and after a surge of darkness, a whistle was lying in his palm. "When you've killed it, blow this whistle, and you'll return to my cave."

I took the whistle from him, and almost dropped it. It was insanely cold. "It's ice!"

He didn't say anything. He knelt over Annabeth and touched her forehead again. She stirred and blinked her eyes. "What happened?"

"We've got to go," I told her, helping her up. "We've got a quest to do."

"What?"

"Good bye, Percy. I hope the Fates decide to let you live. You amuse me."

"Ha, thanks." I put the whistle in my pocket. "How do we get out of here?"

"Oh, don't worry," Hypnos said. "I'll take care of it."

He held his arms open, and with a surge of wind, smashed them together. His wings stretched out to their full span, feathers flying everywhere. The light from the flashlight was sucked away, and the wind roared in our ears. I felt my feet lift off the ground and my vision went black.

**Do you know what the great thing was about this chapter? I could make up everything I wanted to about Hypnos! He's not mentioned in the books at all (until Annabeth and Jason go inside the cabin) so you don't know anything about him. I could make it up! Yay!**

**It was fun.**

**I really am sorry for not updating sooner. I guess that's the one bad thing about updating every day. You miss one day and your readers descend on you like a hungry pack of wolves I'M JUST KIDDING. DON'T TAKE EVERYTHING I SAY SERIOUSLY.**

**I believe I'm done here.**

**OKAY BYE.**

**R&R Hypnos...**


	21. Chapter 20: Imitation

**'Ello! I has a new chapter for you today. Woopee! It's a good one guys :) I know you'll like it. It was so fun writing it, and asdlfkajsdf I'll just let you read now.**

**Let it commence.**

Percy

My feet slammed down hard on the ground, and I instantly fell on my back. My breath came out in a _whoosh_, and I clutched my stomach, trying to suck in air. After a couple minutes and finally managing to get my breathing back to normal, I sat up.

Annabeth was nowhere in sight.

"Annabeth?" I called. There was no response, and no blonde-haired girl lying next to me.

Standing up, I pulled out my sword and uncapped it. Three feet of sharp metal extended out of the point, and I held it out in front of me, turning a circle. I was standing in the middle of a forest clearing. The trees were extremely tall, and their leaves rustled in the breeze. There was no sound. It was silent. No chirping, no animals, nothing.

I had absolutely no idea where I was.

And I was alone.

"Annabeth?" I yelled a bit louder. There was still nothing.

"Freaking…stupid…_Hypnos_!" I cursed, glaring at the ground. "Where the heck am I?!"

I didn't get an answer, but I swear the wind picked up a bit.

Giving the ground one last glare and deciding that I wouldn't get anywhere yelling at Hypnos, I chose a random direction and started to walk, my sword swinging at my side.

I walked for a couple minutes, still yelling Annabeth's name. I had no idea if Hypnos had even sent her with me; she could still be in his cave.

I suddenly stopped, the hairs pricking up on the back of my neck. My ears were still ringing from what I'd just heard.

A scream.

A girl's scream.

"Oh, no," I muttered. And I ran.

I tore through the underbrush, the branches whipping me on the arms and legs. My clothing snagged as thorns caught onto the fabric, but I sprinted forward. I didn't care if I was bleeding. I had to get to her.

My breathing turned ragged, and I got the feeling I was running in circles. I wasn't getting anywhere, and I didn't hear another scream. I stopped, pricking my ears, listening again.

After hearing nothing in the deathly quiet forest, I decided to call again. "Annabeth! _Where are you_?"

Again, nothing.

Letting out a yell of frustration, I took my sword and swung it at the nearest thing. A tree. It sliced through the bark easily, and I yanked it out, still feeling mad. And scared. And worried.

What if she was already dead?

_No, no. You can't think like that. She's a survivor. She's still alive._

Praying to any god that would listen to point me the right way, I chose a random direction and started running again.

I started to hear breathing behind me, and I stopped in my tracks. Whipping around, my sword out and ready, I turned and saw…

Nothing.

I didn't hear the breathing anymore, either. My follower could easily be hiding in the bushes, but I pretended not to think that.

Feigning shrugging my shoulders, I turned around and started to walk at a quick pace. I could hear the breathing again, along with the rustling of bushes.

There was something following me.

Spinning on my heel, I turned again. I saw a flash of movement duck down behind a bush.

"Hello?"

"Percy?" a girl's voice asked.

"Oh, thank the gods, Annabeth," I said, breathing out a sigh of relief. "Where are you?"

"Behind the bush. I got hurt, and I was trying to follow you."

"What got you? Why didn't you just come out?" I asked, walking over to the bush. I used my sword and poked away the leaves.

It wasn't Annabeth.

"This is why," a hoarse voice snarled. And the thing lunged, jaws aiming for my throat.

* * *

Annabeth

I fell to the ground and managed to do a split-second somersault to break my fall. I jumped to my feet, immediately pulling out my knife.

I was standing in a small clearing, with enormous trees standing close together. The grass was tall, and it went up to the middle of my shins.

I was alone.

"Percy?" I called. "Where are you?"

I didn't get an answer.

"Ha ha, Percy, very funny. You got me. Come out."

Nothing.

"Seriously."

Still nothing.

"Oh, gods, must I do _everything_?" I muttered. I checked behind the trees and felt around in the tall grass, but I couldn't find him anywhere.

I let it sink in. He wasn't here at all. I was completely alone.

"Percy?" I yelled again, hope slowly diminishing. "Are you here?"

After waiting a couple seconds, I finally noticed how completely quiet it was. Not only was there no sound of Percy, there was no sound at all.

"Okay…" I said slowly, my grip tightening on my knife.

I started to think. Hypnos had given the whistle to Percy, so I had no way to return to the Underworld. That meant I had to find Percy if I wanted my memories back. And…he wasn't here.

How could I find him if I had no way of knowing where he was?

Accepting the answer that I didn't want, I chose a random direction and started walking, trying to ignore the fact that I could just be walking farther away from him.

After several minutes of ear-pressing silence, I started to call his name, hoping that he would answer.

_If he's even in this stupid forest_, I thought nastily.

I walked through the forest, trying to remain as silent as possible; I didn't want to let anything know that I was here. I was more hoping that Percy would show himself.

A yell broke the silence.

That sounded like Percy.

It sounded like it came from my right, and I started to run. I ripped through the bushes and trees, hacking them out of the way with my knife.

I ran into another clearing, and I slowed down, looking around, breathing heavily.

It sounded like Percy yelled from here, but I didn't see him anywhere. I poked through the bushes surrounding when I heard a growl, and it sounded like laughter.

I walked carefully over to where I heard it, knife held tightly in my hand, and pressed my back against a large tree. I poked my head around the tree slowly, praying that I wouldn't get spotted.

The thing had its back to me. It was a deep red with a swishing lion's tail. Its body looked like a deer's and it had hooves like a goat. I couldn't see what its face looked like, but it was hunched over something.

Something that looked like Percy.

He was lying on his back, but I couldn't see his face. All I could see were his shoes underneath the things body. I had no idea what we had gotten ourselves into. Percy didn't have time to tell me. All I knew is that I had to kill that thing before it killed Percy.

I pulled my head back, breathing heavily, trying hard not to panic. Percy could be injured, maybe already dead.

Ignoring my screaming mind, I gripped my knife even tighter and burst out from behind the tree. I sprinted toward the monster and launched myself on its back, grabbing its ears and pulling hard.

It screamed in pain and thrashed around, trying to throw me off. I gripped the sides of its stomach with my legs and plunged my knife in its side. It shrieked and managed to buck me off.

I sailed through the air and landed hard on the ground, my hip landing on a rock. I cried out but managed to stand up.

I saw what the beast looked like. It had the head of an animal that I'd never seen before, and instead of teeth, it had a bony ridge in its jaw. It looked a lot worse than teeth.

Percy moaned on the ground, and I ran forward, grabbed his hands and yanked him out of the way just in time. The monster charged at me and I dove out of the way, dragging Percy with me.

"Annabeth…?" he moaned. He had blood on his lips, and his voice sounded thick. A bubble formed when he spoke, and it popped, splattering more blood on his nose. He had a cut on his head, and a trickle of blood was running down his jaw.

"It's me," I said breathlessly, trying to ignore his bloody face.

"Is it actually you?"

I didn't know what he meant by that, and I didn't have time to answer. The monster leaped at me and I fell against the ground. I put my feet and hands up, and I managed to flip the monster over my body.

"You fight well, demigod," the monster said in the voice of Percy as it got up.

_What_?

Apparently it saw the shock on my face, because it laughed, tail swishing back and forth.

"I am the _leukrokottas_," it said. I swear it was grinning with its bony jaws. "I am the Imitator."

I tensed, bouncing on my knees. It was trying to bait me with Percy's voice, trying to throw me off. It was doing a good job.

"Yeah? And I'm Annabeth Chase. And this is my knife. You'll get to know it really well." I held it up and pointed it toward the monster. "It's already gotten to know your side."

It screamed, and the hairs on my arms stood up. It sounded exactly like Percy. It charged at me, bony jaws open. I tried to dive out of the way and get it in the throat at the same time.

I missed.

Its hooves didn't.

One of its hooves came out of nowhere and kicked me against the temple. I cried out in pain and fell hard on my back, a massive welt on my head. I saw stars, and I struggled to get up.

It walked over to me and kicked me in the side where the rock had hit. I screamed and clutched my side, a tear running down my face.

Its skeletal face leered over me. "You were a good opponent. It's a shame to kill you."

Hearing it in Percy's voice made it worse. I almost started to cry.

It suddenly exploded, giving out a horrifying shriek. I stared up in shock as the yellow dust rained down on me.

I saw Percy standing there, sword out, with a terrifying expression on his face. "Not a shame for me to kill you," he spat.

"Oh, gods," I whispered. Then I rolled over and cried.

Hearing the _leukrokottas_ talk Percy's voice was too much. It felt like I was going to get killed by Percy, and it was absolutely horrible. My mind just couldn't get over it.

Percy sat down next to me. He picked up my head and put it in his lap and ran his fingers through my hair. We sat there in the silence as he let me cry.

"I-I'm sorry," I finally said thickly when I finished crying, wiping my face. "I just—can't handle…"

"Hey, don't apologize," Percy said softly. "It used your voice, too."

I sat up, rubbing my eyes. "What?"

He gave me a small smile. "It's how I got injured. It pretended to be you, hurt in the bushes. And when I walked over, it pounced on me. I didn't even see it coming."

My hands fell in my lap. "Ouch. What happened?"

"I managed to throw it off me, but it head-butted me in the face. I think I lost a tooth, and its jaw got a nick at my head. I was knocked out cold. I guess that's when you ran in."

I smiled back at him. "Good thing I was there to save you, Seaweed Brain."

"Me to you, too."

He stared at me for a bit, but I didn't look away. His green eyes seemed to understand exactly how I was feeling, and it was nice to have someone finally get _me_. Even if I was only me for a couple days.

My mind started to grow fuzzy as I looked at him, and I barely felt him take my hand.

"Do you have a headache?" I asked, a smile tugging on my lips.

"No," he said. "I just wanted to finally hold your hand."

I squeezed his hand and put my head on his shoulder, hearing his heart pound and his steady breathing.

He rested his head against mine; we sat there in the silence, just taking in each other's presence.

And it felt good.

**Ah, and that felt good writing it :) Srsly, guys, I didn't even know where I was going when I wrote that little Percabeth moment. I just let my fingers type, and that's what came out.**

**So good... :')**

**I want to say a ginormous thank you to (oh my gosh! Apparently ginormous is a word, because I don't have the red squiggly underneath! Sorry, just thought I'd say that.) all of my reviewers:**

**Me (seriously, that's their name. I'm not thanking myself. That'd be weird) - Haha, why do I confuse you?**

**Whoooooooooooosh - I hope you didn't wait too long for this chapter!**

**PercabethAndZebrasFTW - I'm actually not quite sure the _leukrokottas_ is Greek. A Greek guy did mention it, so that's good enough for me.**

**OceanaFallen - Haha! In the mythology, Hypnos had wings, so I thought _What the heck!_ Your reviews always make me laugh! *wipes tear***

**Free (from Brisbane!) - Thanks for pointing that out! I always forget that stuff...stupid dyslexia! Your review was really nice :)**

**Guest - Don't worry! I plan on finishing this before Mark of Athena! I don't want to overlap, because, dude, I'll be reading the crap out of that thing.**

**vball17girl - I rant all the time! Don't you fret. And thanks about Hypnos! He was fun!**

**Guest - I try to post a chapter a day (sorta). So you can semi-accept a chapter every day. Yay! I did say in my other story that I HATE it when authors forget to post, so I try not to do that :) POST ALL THE CHAPTERS.  
**

**THE END.**

**I just wanted to give a small response to the people who recently reviewed. I read all of your reviews, and I try to respond to as many as I can. No review goes unread!**

**I think this is enough of an authors note. You probably didn't even read all this. If you did, yay! You get nothing, just the joy of reading more words!  
**

**OKAY BYE.**

**R&R EVEN MORE PERCABETH!**


	22. Chapter 21: Shadows

**Chapter 21! Sorry, I was going to do a celebration on the last chapter that we've made it to 20 chapters, but I forgot...**

**Yeah! 21 Chapters! That's like 7x3! Woo!**

**Who am I kidding. 21 isn't a cool number like 20. No offence to you "my-favorite-number-is-21" lovers. Ignore my lame attempts to be optimistic up there. I also apologize for not celebrating on the last chapter. You know, because the multiples of 10 are just really popular landmarks, like a decade, 50th anniversary i'mjustgoingtostoptalkingnow.**

**Let it commence.**

Percy

I don't know how long we were sitting like that. It could have been several hours, or even just a minute. I lost track of the time.

Annabeth pulled her head away, squeezed my hand, and stood up. She sucked in a deep, shaky breath and ran a hand through her hair. She winced when she touched the sore spot where the _leukrokottas_ had kicked her.

"I'll find the thermos and baggie," I said, standing up. I walked over and picked up the backpack. It was a miracle that we'd even managed to keep it with us this whole time without losing it. I pulled out the thermos and handed it to her, and she took a small sip. A look of relief passed over her face, and she lifted up her shirt. I could literally see the bruise on her side shrink away. She touched her temple, and after rubbing it cautiously, decided that it was healed, too.

She passed the thermos to me, and I took a tiny drink, and then stuffed half of a magic cracker in my mouth.

As I chewed, I couldn't stop thinking about when I killed the monster. I had barely come to when Annabeth pulled me out of the way. My ears were ringing, and I had blood in my mouth. It felt like I had been trampled by a herd of elephants. But when I had seen Annabeth get kicked in the head, nothing else seemed to matter. I guess it was pure adrenaline pumping, because I'd managed to get up and stab the monster in the neck.

And when it disintegrated, the pure look of fear on Annabeth's face was too much. I knew that she was strong, and she hadn't really opened up to me that much—considering she always seemed to be annoyed with me—but seeing her vulnerable…I felt like there was nothing I could do. So I just held her while she cried. It seemed like the right thing. I felt like I was going to collapse after killing the _leukrokottas_, but instead I'd helped Annabeth.

I just hoped that things wouldn't be any more awkward between us.

Annabeth pulled her hair back into a ponytail and rummaged through the backpack.

"Where's the whistle?" she asked as she shoved her hands inside.

"I have it, remember?" I said, pulling it out of my pocket.

"Oh."

"What, are you ready to leave?" I asked.

She looked at me like I was crazy. "We just had to kill that thing and we get our memories back. Are you serious?"

"Touché," I said, rolling my eyes. I held the whistle gingerly, the cold biting the tips of my fingers.

"Once I blow this whistle, we can't go back. Are you sure you want to do this?" I said dramatically.

"If you're not going to blow the whistle, I will."

"Fine."

I held the whistle up to my lips and blew hard. It didn't even make a sound, and as soon as I pulled away it shattered. I stared in shock at the fragments in my hand.

"That was a waste," I muttered.

"That's it?" Annabeth said, walking over to me. She took the pieces from me and they melted.

"You've got to be kidding me!" she yelled angrily. "We were _this_ close, and he just set us up! I can't believe this." She kicked a rock and it flew and hit a tree.

I put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll find a way, I promise." I felt mad, too.

She opened her mouth to answer, but before she could say anything, the tree that she hit with the rock started to ripple. The shadows on the tree bent and twisted, and there was a _whooshing_ sound. We backed away from the tree, and in the shadows blinked two red eyes.

"Oh, my—" I began.

An enormous howl came from the darkness, and out of the shadows bounded out an enormous dog with glowing red eyes and rippling black fur.

Annabeth screamed.

It pounced at me, paws extended, and knocked me to the ground. I pulled out my sword and was about to slash this massive dog to bits when it licked me on the face.

"What the—?" I grunted, getting flattened under the massive weight of the dog.

Its tail thumped on my feet and it got up, slobbering happily. I noticed that it had a hot pink collar on, and gigantic dog tags.

Annabeth managed to get out of her shock and helped me up, wiping her hand on her jeans when the dog drooled on her. She then tentatively approached the dog, her hand out, and it let her pat it on the nose. Avoiding the dog's teeth, Annabeth gingerly grabbed the dog tag and looked at it. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Percy, you have to look at this."

When I tried to take the tags from her, the dog nosed me playfully, and I staggered backwards. Keeping an eye on it and its teeth, I walked around its head and read the tags:

_Mrs. O'Leary_

"Her name is Mrs. O'Leary?" I asked in surprise.

"Flip it over."

I flipped it over:

_If found, please Iris Message Percy Jackson_

"But that's me!" I exclaimed.

Annabeth looked at me like I was stupid. "That means that _Mrs. O'Leary_ is your dog."

I noticed that Mrs. O'Leary had been sniffing my ear during our conversation. I put my hand on her snout and pushed her head away.

"No, way. I can't have a dog. She's huge!"

"She's yours," Annabeth said simply.

I turned around and looked at her. She was sitting on the ground, tail thumping madly, and when she saw that I was staring at her, she perked her ears and stuck out her tongue, panting.

"I guess she is sort of…cute," I said hopefully. "But what kind of name is Mrs. O'Leary? What was I thinking?"

"You tell me," Annabeth said, raising her eyebrows at me. It looked like she was trying hard not to laugh. "You should really see your face right now. It's just frozen in shock."

I scowled at her.

She started to laugh, and I couldn't help but laugh with her. Soon we couldn't stop. I sat down on the ground, trying to calm down my breathing.

"_WOOOF!_" Mrs. O'Leary barked happily. My heart almost flew out of my mouth. That got me to stop laughing.

"Okay," I said in a strangled voice when my heart put itself where it belonged. "What the heck does my dog have to do with getting back to the Underworld?"

When I said _Underworld_, Mrs. O'Leary stopped digging a crater and stuck out her nose, like she was looking for something. She flopped down on her stomach, causing the ground to shake, and looked at us expectantly.

"I think she wants us to get on," Annabeth said, her eyebrows furrowed.

"What?"

"Don't be a Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said. She walked over to Mrs. O'Leary and hopped on her back, holding onto her collar. "Are you getting on or not?"

Shrugging my shoulders and pretending like this was completely normal, I jumped on my dog and carefully put my hands on Annabeth's waist. She tensed up but didn't say anything.

"Um, okay, Mrs. O'Leary. Uh, do your thing," I said uncertainly.

She started sniffing a butterfly.

Annabeth smirked.

"Your other thing," I said, rolling my eyes.

She stood up, and let me just say that sitting on a dog is very uncomfortable. The muscles in her back legs coiled, and she sprang forward. Annabeth flew backwards and fell against me, and it took all I had to hold on. I tightened my grip on her and squeezed my legs on Mrs. O'Leary.

She started to run…right towards a tree.

"No! Mrs. O'Leary!" I shouted. She didn't stop. She picked up speed instead.

"Percy! _Your dog is crazy_!" Annabeth shrieked.

"I didn't know I had one until five minutes ago!" I yelled in defense.

Mrs. O'Leary did one final bound and leaped straight at the tree. Annabeth screamed and flinched into my chest. I wrapped my arms around her and yelled, squeezing my eyes shut.

A deep cold suddenly washed over me, and we were moving so fast that it felt like my face was going to peel off. There were creepy noises, too. I opened my eyes, but it was so dark it just looked like they were shut. I couldn't see Annabeth in front of me, and there were cackles and groaning in the background.

The shadows melted away to reveal Hypnos's cave. At least, I thought it was his cave. It was just like the shadow place that we'd just come from.

Mrs. O'Leary staggered, and Annabeth and I jumped off before she could squash us under her weight. We jumped off just in time. She flopped over with a deep groan and started to snore so loud my teeth rattled in my mouth.

"Never…again," Annabeth gasped. She fell over and I caught her. "I'd rather walk across a pit full of Legos barefoot."

"I thought it was pretty cool," I said, shrugging, standing her back up again.

The breathing from Hypnos was back.

"Do you want to wake him up, or should I?" I asked.

"You can do it," Annabeth said. "I feel exhausted."

"Okay." I faced the center—or what I thought was the center, since I couldn't see a thing—of the room and called his name.

**MRS. O'LEARY! I love her. She's always been one of my favorite characters. Yeah, an animal is one of my favorite characters, I know. Her and Will. Except he's not an animal.**

**_Anyway_, fun fact! I made cupcakes yesterday, and they are delicious. I gave them to the new family that moved in my neighborhood. Boy my age! *fistpump*  
**

**I have nothing else to say.**

**I know. I have the Last Olympian by me, so I'm just going to post a random quote of the first thing I open up to.**

**Ready? Go!**

**"Seriously? Who has monogrammed pajamas?" ~Percy Jackson**

**OKAY BYE.**

**R&R Mrs. O'Leary!**


	23. Chapter 22: Disappointment

**ATTENTION: THIS AUTHOR'S NOTE IS LONG, BUT I RECOMMEND YOU READ IT.**

**Hellooo, everyone! Chapter 22 is now here!**

**And guess what?**

**IT HAS A SONG ACCOMPANIED TO IT! I know, right? Since when?**

**I've found the perfect song for this chapter. Absolutely perfect.**

**It's called "Arrival of the Birds" by the Cinematic Orchestra. There's actually a certain video that you need to click on, because others have the song "Transformation" tagged onto it, and you don't want that.**

**The video thumbnail is a blue background with several flamingos walking through water. On the top it says "Les Ailes Pourpres", and the small logo of Disney Nature.**

**You want this video. It has a million views. And I think its the first one to show up. I'm serious. You want this one. It ties everything together. USE THIS VIDEO.**

**Also, I timed this chapter to the video. (Wow! I know! It took a while, too) Of course, _it is timed to my reading speed_, so I don't know if this will work, but I REALLY hope it does. You should finish the chapter right when the song ends, if I timed it correctly. I checked and double checked. Put the song on repeat just in case I read faster than you. I'm crossing my fingers hoping this will work. You don't understand. The song needs to end when the chapter does! IT JUST HAS TO. AHSDLGFKJ. I'm actually getting nervous! Whew!**

**Let it commence. (and I'm praying this works...)**

**SO START THE SONG NOW!**

Annabeth

I took Percy's hand. My heart was pounding out of my chest, I was so nervous. What was my life like before? Did I have a family? Brothers and sisters? Where did I live? Was Percy even supposed to be my boyfriend?

What if he was dating someone else?

The questions were starting to give me a headache. I tried to clear my racing mind by focusing on the feeling of Percy's hand in mine.

"Hypnos, we've returned," Percy said loudly.

The breathing stopped. I found the flashlight and clicked it on just in time to see Hypnos materialize into the room.

His black eyes widened, and then he squinted at us. His wings fluttered agitatedly, sending feathers flying soundlessly to the ground. "Again with the flashlight? Don't you know I can't see in the light?"

"Uh, sorry," I apologized. "But I want to see what's going on. I'll just muffle the light." I put the flashlight under my shirt. I could hardly see Hypnos, but I saw him relax a bit.

"Have you done what I've asked?"

"Yes," Percy said. "We've killed the _leukrokottas_, and we…"

He trailed off, and I saw the color drain from his face.

"What is it?" I hissed. I didn't like that face. That face meant we didn't do something. That face meant we were one step away from getting back our memories.

"Oh, no…" Percy muttered.

Hypnos's face was expressionless. He just stared at us with his black pits of eyes.

"Percy. What? Is? It?" I said through clenched teeth.

"The spoil of war."

"The what?"

"We were supposed to get the spoil of war!" he suddenly shouted angrily. "I forgot the spoil of war, okay? And now we can't get them back! _You_ can't get them back! It's all my fault…"

He let go of my hand and covered his eyes with fists. He rubbed his forehead with both hands and his fingers ran down to his cheeks, pulling the skin down. He stared at the ceiling with the most horrible look of guilt on his face.

I stared at him wordlessly, my mouth hanging open. He never said we had to get a spoil of war. I was knocked out when he received the quest. If he had just told me, we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place!

Anger boiled up inside me. He was irresponsible! Completely stupid! How could he even forget? Didn't he know how important this was for me? I had been talking about it nonstop for days. I thought there was a chance that we would make it. And here we were, standing _in the cave where we could get them back_, and it was hopeless. Absolutely hopeless.

We'd lost our chance.

I sank numbly to the ground and sat down, wrapping my arms around my knees. Percy wouldn't look at me, and I swear he started to tear up.

"Annabeth…I'm so sorry. I am _so sorry_. This is all my fault…_all my fault_."

His hands fell limply to his side, and he turned away from me.

"You probably can't even look at me."

My anger washed away. Instead all I felt was sadness—sadness because _he_ was sad. It wasn't his fault at all. We'd both been so caught up in each other. I would've forgotten, too. I stood up and took his hand again, and he turned to look at me, surprise on his face.

"Annabeth, I—"

I interrupted him by pulling him into a hug.

"Shh. It's okay. Don't worry. We've still got each other, and that's what matters, right?"

"No. It's not okay. I—"

"Just shut up, Seaweed Brain."

And then I kissed him.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**:')**

**DID THE SONG WORK? DID IT TIME PERFECTLY? OR DO I JUST READ TO SLOW/FAST? DID YOU LIKE THE SONG? PLEASE TELL ME IN THE REVIEWS IF IT WORKED. I WANT THIS TO WORK. IT **_**HAS**_**TO WORK.**

**Please calm my heart and let me know. I have to know. I'm seriously freaking out. Can you understand why I'm freaking out? This is a big deal, guys! A **_**big deal.**_**This is the most climatic part in the entire story! I built it up to this moment, and the song just HAS TO WORK. A:LKFHSDLKAJ. **

**If it did...sigh, thank goodness. I wrote this chapter to this song, and I rewrote it over and over just so it could time up perfectly. Thank goodness it worked for you.**

**Phew.**

**OHMYGOSH THEY JUST KISSED.**

**THEY KISSED.**

**THEY KISSED.**

**THEY KISSED.**

**THEY KISSED.**

**FINALLY.**

**AFTER TWENTY-TWO AGONIZING CHAPTERS, THEY'VE FINALLY KISSED. THANK THE GODS. THANK THE OTHER GOD. THANK EVERYONE.**

**They finally did it. :')**


	24. Chapter 23: Unexpected

**ATTENTION: ANOTHER LONG AUTHOR'S NOTE**

**I've gotten many reviews about the past chapter (all of them saying that they loved it. Thanks!) but saying that they read really fast and that they finished with 'x' amount of the song left.**

**I've realized the problem.**

**At first I was confused, because I am a really fast reader. I can blow through books in hours. But then it hit me.**

**When I was reading it over, there would be certain parts of the story that fit in really well with the music, and since I heard the song about 50 times over, I knew exactly what part of the story I should be at pertaining to the song. And since you guys didn't know that, you just read through the _extremely_ short chapter that I wrote with minutes to spare in the song.**

**Make sense? So I knew that Percy yelling about the spoil of war would be at the part where the music was the most dramatic, and when the music gets quieter, that was when Annabeth forgave Percy. Then I would stall until the music was at its final notes, and that's when I would read the part when she kissed him. So I read unconsciously slower because I wanted to match up the words to the song. **

**All in all, the song just distracted me. But it was still a good song. :D**

**The end.**

**Phew, long authors note. If you read through all of that, congratulations! You win a prize—the joy of reading more words than the other people. You're welcome.**

**Let it commence.**

Percy

Dread washed through me. I trailed off, realizing my mistake.

"What is it?" Annabeth asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Oh, no…" I muttered. My heart sank down to my stomach. I looked away from Annabeth, and I could feel her eyes boring into my back. I felt absolutely horrible.

"Percy," Annabeth said through gritted teeth. "What? Is? It?"

"The spoil of war," I mumbled.

"What?"

I lost it. All of the guilt and the rage towards myself just crashed out. "We were supposed to get the spoil of war!" I yelled angrily, rounding on her. "I forgot the spoil of war, okay? And now we can't get them back! _You_ can't get them back! It's all my fault…"

I realized that I was still holding her hand, and I pulled it away. I rubbed my eyes with my fists, and then let them run down to my cheeks. How could I have forgotten? I stared at the ceiling, avoiding her gaze.

I shouldn't have taken it out on Annabeth. It wasn't her fault. I was just…distracted after we killed the monster. She was so scared and hurt, and she just needed my help. I'd completely forgotten to even _look_ for the spoil of war. I had no idea what it even was. And because of that, it was probably gone by now. We wouldn't be able to go back, we wouldn't be able to get it. We wouldn't be able to get our memories back.

Probably never.

I could see Annabeth out of the corner of my eye. She was staring at me, her mouth open in shock. Several emotions flickered across her face. Anger, confusion, sadness. And hurt. It was in her eyes, and she was shooting the hurt at me like poisoned arrows.

She sank to the ground and sat, wrapping her arms around her legs and putting her forehead on her knees. I couldn't see her face anymore, and I didn't know if she was crying or not.

I was suddenly aware that my eyes were getting wet. I didn't wipe the tears away, though. I felt like I deserved it.

"Annabeth…I'm so sorry. I am _so sorry_. This is all my fault…_all my fault_." My hands fell away to my face and to my side. I looked away from her again.

"You probably can't even look at me."

She was silent, and I looked at Hypnos. He had his arms folded over his chest, but he hadn't said anything. He just stared at us with his black eyes, his mouth in a hard line. His wings were pressed tightly against his back.

I suddenly felt her take my hand. I turned around, surprised. Why was she doing this? She had every right to be mad at me.

Her face looked sad, but she didn't seem angry anymore.

"Annabeth, I—"

She cut me off by pulling me into a hug. She held onto me tightly, and her hands ran up and down my back. She put her head on my shoulder.

"Shh. It's okay," she said softly. "Don't worry. We've still got each other, and that's what matters, right?"

I pulled away, shaking my head. "No. It's not okay. I—"

"Just shut up, Seaweed Brain."

She leaned in, closing her eyes, and pressed her lips against mine.

It was like my mind was waiting for it all along. It all became a blur. My eyes shut, and colors whizzed across the backs of my eyelids. Fireworks were erupting in my chest, and sparks flew from our lips.

I pulled her gently closer, just feeling. Feeling the fireworks, the sparks, the colors, and her. Her lips against mine, her hands around my neck, her hair brushing my cheek.

The kiss wasn't passionate. It was gentle and soft. I wrapped my arms around her, and she pulled away. We were inches apart, and our noses were almost touching. Her beautiful gray eyes were shining, and a small smile tugged on her mouth.

She hugged me, and I hugged her back tightly. We stood there for what felt like days, holding each other close.

She relaxed and stepped back, still looking at me.

"Who knew you were such a good kisser?" she said, smiling.

Before I could even answer, a voice yelled out.

"Finally!"

We jumped and looked around. Hypnos had thrown his hands in the air, looking smug.

"Do you know how long I've been waiting for you to do that? I mean, come _on_!"

I stared at him. "What?"

"It was all a test, and I about thought you would fail! There is no spoil of war for the _leukrokottas_! Can you imagine what would happen if all monsters had a spoil?"

Annabeth had an unreadable expression on her face. "You're telling me that you sent us on a near-impossible quest killing a dangerous monster, having us believe there was a spoil of war, and all we needed to do was _kiss_?" I hadn't noticed her storm steadily towards Hypnos until she was staring him down in the face, fists clenched.

He crossed his arms again. "My, for a child of Athena, you've caught on quite slow. Tell me, was the kiss worth it? I know you've wanted to do it for a while."

She blushed pink and glanced back at me. I felt heat go up to my face, too.

"Now, would you so kindly get out of my face? I could easily blast you down, and I'm sure that Percy will try to seek revenge or something, or do you still want your memories back?"

She took an uneasy step back. "I—why?"

"Why did I do this? I knew that you guys were _so_ in love with each other before your memory loss. I can see into dreams, remember? I wanted to see if that would carry over. Of course, with the Lethe being my symbol and all, I was able to do you a little…favor by preventing some of your memories from being taken, along with the help from Aphrodite. She came to me about it, because she knew what was going to happen. Apparently you're the cutest couple she's ever seen since Helen and Troy. And we all know how _that_ turned out."

My mouth was opening and closing like a fish. I think I made a bit of a strangled sound. The only thing I could really think about was what exactly he saw in my dreams.

"But you said you didn't know why we still had some memories!" Annabeth said.

"I lied," Hypnos said, shrugging. "You know, I expected a bit more gratitude. Saving some of your memories and whatnot…"

"I guess…" Annabeth muttered reluctantly. I knew she was still upset about the whole 'I'm-hooking-you-up-without-you-knowing' thing. Honestly, I felt slightly insulted. Did our kiss mean nothing? Because I thought she felt it, too.

"Does this mean that we can get our memories back?" I managed to ask once I swallowed the lump in my throat.

If a guy with pits for eyes could roll them, Hypnos would have. "Did you pass my test?"

Annabeth glanced at me again, and then walked back and took my hand.

Maybe she did feel something.

"Who's going first?" she asked.

**And...scene.**

**Describing the kiss was fun :) I couldn't stop grinning the entire time I was writing it.**

**Sorry it took me a while to update. When I wrote this a couple days ago, I was seriously about to update it (I had it in the editing, and I was adding the Author's Notes) when my internet shut down. I was so mad! My dad was able to fix it about two hours later, but then I was busy for the rest of the week with back-to-school shopping and freaking out about senior year.**

**ugh, senior year.**

**Also, school is starting next week, so I won't be able to update every day anymore. I might have to set aside a day of the week to update like other authors. Sorry :( I don't want to, but it's kinda unavoidable.**

**AND, since I made it into the top choir in my school (Chamber! Question, it seems like all the writers on fanfiction are in choir. Has anyone else noticed that?) I'm going on a retreat to a cabin in the mountains for two days for bonding and trust and games with the choir before school starts so we are a 'better' choir. I'm excited! So that means that I won't be able to update Friday or Saturday. I might be able to do it before I leave, or on Thursday, but I'm not sure. No promises.**

**ANYWAY, now that this chunk of an Author's Note is over, tell me what you think!**

**Quite the curveball, eh?**

**Sigh...I love Hypnos. Probably because he's one of 'my' characters, and not Riordan's.**

**You know what I mean.**

**Okay, I think I'm done here.**

**OKAY BYE.**

**R&R THE KISS OMG.**


	25. Chapter 24: Shock

**Hello, everyone! I am back from my choir retreat. I'll just say that it was buckets of fun. Also, school starts for me next Tuesday :( That means less updating :(:( I'll just let you get to the chapter now!**

**Let it commence.**

Annabeth

Hypnos narrowed his eyes—or at least it looked like it.

"Annabeth Chase," Hypnos said slowly. "Yes…your memories have been gone longer."

Percy's eyes widened when he heard that. I squeezed his hand and walked toward Hypnos.

"What do I need to do?" I asked, feeling nervous.

His eyes started to look steadily more intimidating, and they sucked away the light from the flashlight. His eyes suddenly looked like they could swallow the earth, and I couldn't tear my eyes away from them.

"Annabeth!" I heard someone yell. Their voice sounded like it was at the end of a tunnel. I tried to turn my head, but it wouldn't move. I tried blinking, but my eyelids felt like they were cemented open. Hypnos's eyes steadily got bigger and bigger until they swallowed me whole, taking the light with them.

PAGE BREAK

I was lying on a cold, stone floor. My hair was sprawled over my face, and I slowly sat up. It was absolutely pitch-black, and I couldn't see my hand when I waved it in front of my face.

"Hello?" I called. My voice echoed ominously. "Percy? Hypnos?"

I didn't get a response. A draft of cold air came out of nowhere, and I shivered.

"Anyone?" I yelled, feeling a bit worried.

"_Anyone, anyone, anyone_?" my echo repeated, the voice fading away.

I exhaled, rubbing my arms. I realized that I was still wearing Percy's shirt. I hadn't changed my clothes in two days.

Ugh. I needed a shower.

Trying to ignore my smell and accepting the fact that I wouldn't get anywhere just sitting there, I got to my feet. I turned in a circle, seeing if there was a flicker of light that I'd missed.

There wasn't.

Still feeling a bit uneasy about walking off into the darkness, I tried to think. How had I gotten here? Hypnos. I was supposed to be getting my memor—

A horrible pain ripped through my skull, like someone was taking a chisel and hammer and trying to pound their way into my brain. I cried out and grabbed my head. Tears pricked my eyes, and I sank to the ground. It felt like my brain was trying to bash its way out of my head.

With a swell of pain that almost knocked me out and another cry, a vision flickered behind my eyelids. Or maybe it was just in front of me. It was so dark I couldn't tell the difference.

The pain slowly faded away as I stared in front of me. I got up shakily to my feet, my eyes bulging out of my head.

A little girl who looked about seven was sobbing as she stuffed things inside a small backpack. She was sitting on her bed, and the small clock on her table read 2:30 in the morning.

"Daddy…hates me…leaving," I heard her cry through her sobs.

She zipped the pack closed and climbed off the bed. She didn't even glance back as she left the bedroom, still sniffling.

I realized with a jolt that it was _me_.

Pain ripped through my head again, but not so violent. My vision went slightly black, and when it came to, the image had changed.

The little girl—_me_—was hiding behind a sheet of metal. I heard slow footsteps approach the metal, and Little Me tightened her grip on a hammer, trembling.

The metal was ripped away and she leapt out, swinging the hammer wildly.

"Whoa!" a boy yelped. He was holding the metal in one hand and grabbed the wrist of Little Me with the other. He had blonde hair and bright blue eyes. The hammer flew out of her hands and she started kicking and fighting.

"No more monsters! Go away!" she cried.

"It's okay!" the boy tried to tell her while trying to block her tiny fists. "Thalia, put your shield up. You're scaring her."

A girl I hadn't noticed with electric blue eyes and choppy black hair tapped her wrist and a frightening shield wound itself and turned into a bracelet.

"Hey, it's all right," the girl said. "We're not going to hurt you. I'm Thalia, and this is Luke."

The scene morphed. It was raining hard, and I was being pushed up a slick hill by Luke. I could hardly see a thing, and lightning flashed. Monsters were surging up the hill, and the girl, Thalia, was fighting her hardest. She ducked, weaved, stabbed, and punched. She was bleeding from multiple wounds, but she didn't show signs of stopping. She fought her way up the hill until she was at the top, and a lucky spear was thrown into her stomach. She cried out and sank to the ground. The monsters vaporized when the reached the top of the hill, and I watched with tears streaming down both mine and Luke's faces as Thalia was suddenly turned into a pine tree.

And it changed again. I was patting a boy's forehead with a wet cloth and spooned some golden pudding into his mouth. His messy dark hair was sweaty, and he was slightly drooling. My mouth was in a slight smile as I watched him sleep. I realized that it was Percy, but much younger.

Scenes flashed and changed, and I could only assume that they were my memories coming back to my mind. I watched them all with open eyes, my mouth slightly open.

I leaned in and kissed Percy as the crowd lifted us on their shoulders, cheering, and laurel leaves were placed on our heads. A boy with one eye in the middle of his forehead was jumping up and down and clapping.

"That's my brother!" he cheered.

"Tyson…" I muttered. "I remember his name."

I screamed in pain as the weight of the world fell onto my shoulders. I started to cry.

"Luke! _Luke_! Help me!" I cried.

A boy turned, and I saw an ugly scar that ran down his face. It hadn't been there before. There was no sympathy in his eyes. He walked away. I cried even harder.

I ran down corridor after corridor, with Percy trailing behind me with a goat boy—Grover—and Tyson behind us.

"This doesn't make sense!" I cried out in exasperation.

I kissed Percy on the cheek behind a large cauldron, and his eyes widened. I pulled away with tears in my eyes and put my hat on my head and ran away, crying.

A knife flashed down to Percy's exposed back, and I impulsively jumped in front of the blade for some unknown reason. I screamed as it hit me in the side, and Percy whipped around and saw me bleeding. Anger flashed on his face, and he fought even harder.

I held a bleeding Luke in my arms, and I was crying. Percy was standing behind me with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Did you…did you ever love me?" he gasped, blood on his lips.

I glanced back at Percy, who was staring at us, his sword clenched tightly in his hand.

I looked back to his dying body. "You were like a brother to me, Luke, but I didn't love you."

He nodded as if expecting the answer, and died in my arms.

I was thrown into a lake, laughing so much my stomach hurt. I was holding hands with Percy, and we sank to the bottom. An air bubble formed around us, and we kissed with all we had, and the blue cupcake was lying forgotten on the bottom of the bubble.

"Happy Birthday, Seaweed Brain," I muttered, smiling against his lips.

I burst into the cabin, and Tyson was on the ground, sobbing his eye out.

"T-Tyson?"

"Annabeth!" he sobbed, flinging himself onto my shoulder.

"What happened? Where's Percy?" I cried.

"Woke up! Percy gone! Cabin messy!" Tyson gulped, wiping his eye with his hand.

"Percy? G-Gone?" I stammered.

"Gone!" Tyson howled.

I was staring over the railing of a massive flying ship, my hair whipping around my face. There he was. Percy. After not seeing him for months, he was there. I ran over to a boy—Leo—and grabbed a rope ladder from him. I flung it over the edge and practically slid down the ladder I was descending so fast.

Right when my feet touched the ground, I heard someone cry out.

"No! _No_!"

I ran through the crowd. "Percy?"

An unseen source suddenly hit me on the back of the head with the butt of a spear. I couldn't help but cringe as I saw myself crumple to the ground.

The scene changed once again.

I was glaring with all I had towards…Percy? He was glaring right back.

"What? _What_?" I shrieked, tears falling down my face. "You don't _love _me anymore. So you can just turn it off, like that? Decide that you don't _love_ me anymore? What happened to all the things we've done together? Are they just gone, too? Should we just pretend like they never happened?"

I stormed toward him, and he just kept on glaring, his eyes hard and full of hatred.

I slapped him hard across the face, and his head whipped to one side. He gasped and touched his cheek.

"You heard me, Annabeth," he snarled, his head turning slowly towards me. "We're done. I'm through. It's over."

I shoved him, and he fell against the wall.

"I don't believe you."

The scene morphed again. I started feeling anger towards Percy as I watched. Why did he do this to me? I thought I was in love with him! And now that I saw how he treated me…

He walked over to me, one of his fists clenched.

"Get away from me."

"No."

"Go away!" I screamed.

He took my face with one hand and I struggled hard. With his other hand, he pulled out a vial and uncapped it with his teeth.

"What are you doing?" I asked, fear creeping into my voice.

"I'm sorry, Annabeth."

"Oh, you're _sorry_!" I laughed hysterically.

His eyes softened. "I'm so sorry."

The vial touched my lips.

"You…what are you—no!"

The liquid fell into my mouth, and the scene started to turn slowly black. I could barely see Percy take me into his arms and start to cry into my hair as he rocked my limp body back and forth.

The scene vanished, and I was staring into the empty space again, my mouth slightly open.

He was the one who had given me the Lethe. The one who betrayed me and broke my heart. The reason that I had no memories. The reason I was in this whole mess. I was in shock.

Percy, the boy that I'd started to fall in love with ever since I'd seen him in the cell was the one who did this. _All_ of this. Mixed emotions crashed through me, and all I could do was stare at the place where the memories came back, frozen, with my mouth open.

But yet, I still had a ray of hope.

I could still hear his soft last words echo through my head just as the scene had vanished.

_I love you_.

**Annabeth has her doubts about Percy now that she's seen what he's done to her. Will she be able to push past it and continue to love him, or will it be too much? I don't know...**

**Eh, not my best work :/**

**School starts on Tuesday... :( meh.**

**OKAY BYE.**

**OH! P.S. Just in case you didn't figure it out, this was all happening inside Annabeth's head. The echoing and the cold draft? That's because her brain is 'empty'. Sure, she's still smart, but she has no memories besides the ones that she's recently made. Make sense? Good.**


	26. Chapter 25: Confusion

**Hello! I believe that Sunday will be the day that I update (Set in stone days. I can still update during the week). Sundays are my easy days because I don't do anything on them, so that means I can write. I just had my first week of school, and I had fun. I think AP Psychology will be my favorite class. It's just so interesting!**

**Leaving the topic of school behind, this is just a shorty-short chapter. I need to get my brain flowing with creativity since I haven't written in over a week.**

**Anywho, I'll just let you read the chapter now.**

**Let it commence.**

Percy

It took all of my self control to not storm over to Hypnos and wrench Annabeth from his grasp. He was holding her tightly on the shoulders, and her mouth gaped open. Her face was pale as she stared deeply into his eyes. She let out a small moan, and then he let go of her. She collapsed to the ground.

"What did you do to her?" I yelled, staring at him. My hand jumped instinctively to my pocket.

"What you want me to do. Do you not want her to regain her memories?" Hypnos said.

"I—"

"Hmm, I thought so."

I bit my lip, looking at Annabeth lying on the ground. Her hair was in her face, but she seemed peaceful.

"How…how does it work?" I asked finally.

Hypnos looked surprised. "What?"

"How does it work?" I repeated.

"You're curious as how to…?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Uh, yeah? I want to know what I'm getting myself into."

He scowled at me, realizing what I was getting at. "What is it that Dionysus says all the time? 'Whatever'? Yes, well, whatever, Percy Jackson. It's simple. All of the most influential and important memories are returning to her one at a time. The rest just comes with it naturally. She's currently viewing them in her head, and when she reaches the point where she had her last memory before the loss, she'll regain consciousness."

"Oh."

"Again, whatever."

After looking at my sword and considering whether it needed polishing or not—and avoiding Hypnos's gaze—I sat down and leaned against Mrs. O'Leary. She was still sleeping, and her snoring vibrated my body. An awkward silence settled over the cave. I took the flashlight and flicked it on and off.

"Oh, dear," Hypnos said suddenly.

"What?" I exclaimed, at Annabeth's side in a second.

"The process is almost complete, and she's hitting the…ah, _touchier_ memories."

"Touchier?"

Annabeth stirred.

"She's regaining consciousness."

"I can see that."

"You might want to look out."

"What?"

A fist connected with my face, and I reeled back, shocked.

"_Perseus Jackson_!" a shrill voice shrieked.

"Annabeth?"

My vision cleared just in time to see her storm over to me, her face livid.

"How—how _dare_ you! I can't…you…UGH!" she screamed in my face, and it looked like she was about to cry. She pushed me down.

I didn't even know what to say as I skidded on the ground and thumped against Mrs. O'Leary.

"I cannot _believe_ you would ever do something like this to me? And you expect me to come crawling back to you? Not a chance!"

She unsheathed her knife, and I dove behind my dog, using her as a shield.

"I don't even know what I did!" I yelled in defense.

"Oh-ho! Allow me to give those memories back to you!" Annabeth snarled.

Before Annabeth could have moved, Hypnos walked calmly up to her and touched the back of her neck. She fell to the ground and slumped against Mrs. O'Leary's back, her knife clattering on the stone floor. I grabbed it so she couldn't use it on me when she woke up again.

I stared at Annabeth. All I could think of was _What the heck?_

"What the heck?" I yelped.

"I should have seen that coming," Hypnos said. "Perhaps I should have done you first. Then you could have explained."

"Explain what?"

Hypnos sighed, looking at Annabeth, ignoring my question. "I believe it's your turn."

"Whoa, wait a second," I said, walking around Mrs. O'Leary and gingerly avoiding Annabeth. "How about _you_ do the explaining and let me know what's going on here."

"Or I could just show you," Hypnos said.

I stood frozen to the spot as Hypnos's eyes got steadily bigger and bigger. My knees felt weak, and I struggled to tear my gaze away from his eyes. They soon became large black pits, and I was swallowed in the darkness.

**It's official. I love Hypnos. I know I've said this many times, but I can seriously see me and this guy getting along swimmingly. He's just so cool.**

**I didn't really feel like myself when I was writing. I just didn't connect to this chapter like I normally do to the others. Oh well.**

**Haha, Annabeth has gone crazy! Will she be able to listen to Percy explain himself when he gets his memories back? And what are the visions that Percy will see when he gets _his_ memories back? Tune in next time to find out!_  
_**

**Also, I would like to make a fanfiction recommendation. I was browsing, looking for a good story, and I found a freaking series and a series to the series. And they're incredible. I could not stop reading them, and the way this guy writes is so good.**

**The author's name is Project Phoenix Agent 003. The first of the series that he writes is called Percy Jackson and the Prison of the Gods.**

**Actually, I'll just post the titles of the series and whatever. It'll be easier.**

**SERIES ONE:**

**Percy Jackson and the Prison of the Gods  
Percy Jackson and the Wrath of the Mortals  
Nico di Angelo and the Great Resurrection**

**SERIES TWO:**

**Jacob Jackson and the Sins of the Fathers  
Jacob Jackson and the Shame of Olympus  
Jacob Jackson and the Colors of War**

**He's currently writing the Colors of War, and I can't wait for the next chapter to come out. I read the series in like, two or three days. THEY'RE SO GOOD. I seriously recommend these series. Go read them. Like, now.**

**Okay, now that THAT'S over with, I think this author's note is long enough.**

**OKAY BYE.**


	27. Chapter 26: Anger

**Whoa! What? Littlebitclever? Alive? And updating? What?!**

**All I can say is I'M SORRY. I could give you millions of excuses about why I haven't posted, but I know you don't want to hear-er, read-them. All you want to do is read the EXTREMELY long-awaited chapter. Also, this chapter was about eight pages in Word, and my average amount of pages for a chapter is about three. I've made this one DOUBLY long compared to other chapters as an I'M-SO-SORRY-PLEASE-FORGIVE-ME present.**

**LET'S JUST READ THE DANG CHAPTER NOW.**

**Let it commence.**

Percy

I was lying on my back, my arms and legs sprawled out on a cold floor. Goosebumps immediately prickled onto my skin as the cold seeped through my clothes. It felt almost…unnatural.

I used my hands to hoist myself up into a sitting position, and then ran them through my hair to brush it out of my eyes. They narrowed, trying to see in the darkness.

I squinted harder, trying to make anything out.

"Uh, hello?" I called uncertainly.

"_Hello, hello, hello, hello_?" my echo replied.

The hairs standing up on the back of my neck, I reached immediately for my pocket and felt around. Riptide wasn't there.

I rubbed my face with my hands, feeling confused. I started to think about how weird it was that it wasn't in my pocket like it normally was, and soon my thoughts drifted to Annabeth.

Why did she act like that? She said that I'd done something to her. What exactly was it that I'd even done? She'd looked seriously hurt and definitely angry. I must've done something pretty bad.

Hypnos seemed to know what I'd done—whatever it was. He said that he'd wanted me to find out for myself. That he'd show me.

Hypnos was seriously acting like a pain in the butt right now.

Before I could even think more about it, a pain ripped violently through my skull. Yelling out, I fell back to the ground, clutching my head. It felt like someone was pressing a hot poker to my brain. My eyes squeezed shut as red started to enter into my vision.

A light flickered in my face, and the pain slowly faded away. Looking through my hair and blinking in the light, I slowly sat up and stood shakily to my feet, trembling from the sudden pain.

It was almost as if a movie was playing in front of me. I watched as a small boy, who looked to be about nine or ten, was standing in between a woman and a man. The woman was pretty, and she had deep brown eyes. I could tell that she would normally look happy, but right then she looked miserable.

With a jolt, I realized that she was my _mother_. That must mean that the little boy with the messy dark hair was _me_. My mouth slightly dropped open

The man, on the other hand, looked completely smug. And he was ugly. Overweight with a disgusting potbelly, scruff, greasy hair, and balding, he had a look of triumph on his face. I could almost smell him from where I was.

His name suddenly popped in my head. Gabe Ugliano, my horrific step-dad. Even his last name said that he was ugly.

A flash flared, and I realized that the three of us were posing for a picture. As soon as the flash was gone, a terrible smirk appeared on Smelly Gabe's face as he looked at me.

Another burst of pain struck, but not as violent. The scene changed to me sitting in what looked like a park. I was sitting next to a boy with curly brown hair wearing a Rasta cap. He had acne, and it looked like he was already getting scruff. Grover.

A girl was snickering as she threw bits of a sandwich at him and it stuck in his hair. Fists clenched, I stood up and water from a fountain reared out and grabbed the girl, pulling her in.

She screamed as she became drenched in the water. "Percy pushed me!"

A shriveled old woman suddenly materialized at her side. Mrs. Dodds, my creepy math teacher.

"This way, honey," she said as she guided me up the steps to a museum.

The scene changed again.

I was in a car with my mom and Grover, and it was suddenly thrown off the road. I yelled as I tumbled around in the car, and it crashed to the ground. I was jarred hard, and I managed to pull myself out of the wreck, Grover and my mom right behind me. But instead of Grover having human's legs, he had the legs of a goat.

A girl with blonde hair walked around with me through a camp with different cabins. Everyone was wearing orange t-shirts with the name Camp Half-Blood printed on them.

"You drool in your sleep," the girl told me.

My mouth dropped open as I recognized the girls' curly blonde hair and gray eyes. It was Annabeth, only much younger. She might've been twelve.

I watched in awe, realizing that all of the things that I was watching were my actual memories, and that they were coming back to me.

Annabeth, Grover, and I were standing in a dark cavern with a massive three-headed dog growling down at us.

I'd seen that dog before. It was in the Underworld, only this time, it didn't look as friendly the first time I'd met it.

"Here, Cerberus! Want the ball?" Annabeth cried, thrusting a large, red rubber ball into the air.

All nine Cerberus's eyes followed the ball as she waved it around.

"Go get it!" she yelled, throwing the ball as hard as she could.

Cerberus high-tailed it as fast as he could to the ball, trampling through dead souls. One of the heads got it, and the other two snarled as they tried to take it out of the other's mouth. He walked proudly back to Annabeth and dropped the tattered, drooly remains of the ball at Annabeth's feet.

I slashed a jumping scorpion out of the air, feeling triumphant. I suddenly looked down and saw an ugly gash forming on the palm of my hand. The stupid bug had gotten me. The image started to fade to black as I collapsed to the ground, crawling towards the water that seemed like miles away. I was going to die.

I was with Annabeth on a massive ship. She was tied to a mast, and she was struggling hard. Although I couldn't hear her, she was screaming and crying. She thrashed around in the ropes holding her down. I turned my back for as second, and when I looked at her again, she was gone, the ropes left on the floor. I'd forgotten to take her knife from her.

"Oh, gods, no," I gasped.

I ran to the deck and dove into the water, slicing through the waves. I caught up to Annabeth and grabbed her. An image replaced the scene. I saw what she was seeing. A happy family and Luke, praising her on the beautiful buildings that she had constructed. I pulled her under the water, formed an air bubble, and let her cry into my shoulder.

I screamed as the weight of the world fell on my shoulders. Artemis leaped smoothly out of the way as she began to combat Atlas. She fought him and guided him towards me until he was underneath the sky. I jumped out of the way and the sky fell on him instead. I almost collapsed to the ground from exhaustion.

I ran through a maze with Annabeth, feeling slightly claustrophobic. Annabeth looked frustrated as she glared at the walls as if everything was their fault.

"I just don't understand. We should be heading towards the older part of the maze by now!" she cried in exasperation.

Grover and Tyson ran up behind us, panting.

"I just want to get out of this cursed place," Grover gasped. "I can't feel the Wild at all!"

"Yes, Goat Boy," Tyson agreed. "Walls long. Corners everywhere."

"What exactly was it that Hera—?" I started to ask.

"Not now, Percy," Annabeth snapped. "I'm mad enough as it is."

I raised my hands up in surrender, looking at her incredulously, as she turned her gaze back to the tiled walls. I knew that she was hiding something else.

Annabeth and I were crouching behind a large cauldron. She was in the middle of saying something when a door burst open and telkhines poured out.

"Put your cap back on! Get out!" I yelled at her frantically.

"What?" Annabeth shrieked, looking scared. "No! I'm not leaving you!"

"I've got a plan. I'll distract them. You can use the metal spider—maybe it'll lead you back to Hephaestus. You have to tell him what's going on."

"But you'll be killed!" she cried, her eyes looking wet.

"I'll be fine. Besides, we've got no choice."

Annabeth glared at me, looking as if she was going to hit me or hug me. She suddenly did something unexpected. She closed her eyes, leaned forward, and kissed me straight on the lips.

I felt like Jell-O. She pulled away, looking at me intently. "Be careful, Seaweed Brain."

With that, she slipped on her cap and I heard her run away.

I dove into the River Styx, and it felt like my whole body erupted into flames. I could feel my very essence dissolving away when an image wavered into view. Annabeth was leaning over me, smiling.

"Come on, Seaweed Brain," she said, holding a hand out to me. I reached up, and I flew out of the river, landing on the bank, coughing and spluttering. Nico was standing by me, looking worried.

Annabeth dove in front of me, taking a knife to the side. She screamed, and shock flew through me as she sank to the ground, quickly replaced by anger. I fought with all I had, praying that Annabeth would be alright.

Annabeth held Luke in her arms. She was crying, brushing hair out of his face. I stood there, not knowing what to do, and wondering if she would leave me for him.

"Did you…did you ever love me?" Luke whispered weakly.

Annabeth stared at him, and then looked at me. Her expression changed, and she looked back at Luke. I could barely hear what she said.

"You were like a brother to me, Luke, but I didn't love you."

We were kissing. Our hearts were beating against each other, and I slowly ran my fingers through her hair. Our lips slowly broke apart.

"I love you," I said simply. "Is that a stupid thing to say?"

"No," she sighed, leaning her head against me. We stood there in the silence.

Annabeth suddenly pulled back. "I don't want to get caught by the harpies."

I laughed. "I should get back to Tyson. He probably IMed my Dad, telling him about what we've been doing," I said. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"I'll see you tomorrow," she agreed.

A massive ship soared across the sky, and all of the Romans pushed their way into the streets, mouths gaping. I saw a girl with curly blonde hair glance over the side of the ship. Her eyes widened, and then she ran off. A rope ladder was suddenly flung over the side, and she vaulted over the railing and down the ladder as fast as she could. Just as her feet touched the ground, the end of a spear went flying towards my head. I couldn't help but cringe as I watched myself crumple to the ground in front of me.

I was inside a cell. Annabeth was staring at me, shock clearly on her face. It was soon wiped away to reveal anger.

"What? _What_?" she shrieked. "You don't _love_ me anymore. So you can just turn it off, like that? Decide that you don't _love_ me anymore? What happened to all the things we've done together? Are they just gone, too? Pretend like they never happened?!"

She stormed towards me, expecting me to say something. When I didn't, she slapped me hard across the face.

I gasped, touching my cheek. I jumped to my feet.

"You heard me, Annabeth," I snarled. "We're done. I'm through. It's over."

She shoved me, and I fell hard on the stone floor.

"I don't believe you."

She began to cry. She pounded on the door, screamed at me, screamed at some guy named Octavian, and curled on the ground. She avoided my gaze, and a guilt so horrible ripped through me. It killed me just to look at her look at _me _with an expression of pure hatred.

With a last burst of soul-ripping guilt, I stood up and approached her, the Lethe clenched tightly in my hand.

She looked up at me from her knees, her eyes bloodshot and red.

"Get away from me."

"No."

"Go away!" she screamed.

I took her face in my hand, and she struggled hard. With my other hand, I pulled out the Lethe and uncapped it with my teeth.

"What are you doing?" she cried, fear in her voice. Annabeth looked at the bottle, and she tried to shrink away.

"I'm sorry, Annabeth," I whispered.

"Oh, you're _sorry_!" she laughed hysterically.

"I'm so sorry…"

I moved the vial to her mouth.

"You…what are you—no!"

She tried to move her head away, but I held it fast. I pushed the vial against her lips, and the liquid entered her mouth. She tried to spit it out, but I could see it go down her throat. She became instantly limp in my arms, and I pulled her close, rocking her back and forth. My tears fell into her hair. I put her head on my shoulder and whispered in her ear.

"I love you."

My mouth gaped open. Why did I do that? What—?

The scenes weren't over. A new one slowly flickered into view.

A boy, tall and thin, with annoying straw colored hair walked in, clapping slowly.

Octavian.

He was the one who did this. Who made me do this.

"Quite the performance," he said, smiling. "I'll admit, you had me convinced. You are quite the actor."

I glared at him with all I could, putting in all of my anger into that glare. If looks could kill…

"You're probably wondering what will happen next. I have plans for you, don't worry."

"I won't," I snapped.

I couldn't help but feel impressed as I watched my…past self? bad mouth Octavian. Especially when surprise showed on his face.

He snarled. "You are predictable, Jackson," he spat. "I knew you were going to go along with this. You love her too much. Too loyal. Too soft. You are nothing. You were easy to defeat. I didn't beat you with strength. I beat your mind. And soon, you'll have nothing, just like her. You'll be wiped away. Cleansed, I dare say. It's your turn."

My fist tightened on a ball of parchment. I could tell that this thing was important.

Octavian put his hand in his robes and pulled out another vial similar to the one I gave to Annabeth.

"Do you want this the easy way, or the hard way?"

I held out my hand and he dropped it in. I looked at Annabeth before I launched myself at him. His head hit the stone floor with a _crack_ and he squealed as my fist connected hard to his face. His nose erupted in a fountain of blood and fell quickly to stain the floor.

"Did you predict this?" I growled.

I was suddenly hauled away from him and thrown across the room. My head hit the wall and the image started to go fuzzy. The vial flew from my hands and bounced harmlessly on the floor.

Octavian got up shakily, blood still falling from his nose.

"Apparently, you've chosen the hard way," he groaned. "Bind him."

Thick rope tied around my wrists and feet. A shock ripped through me. I'd dropped the note, too.

I crawled towards it. It was lying just a few feet away from Annabeth. I was almost there when the guard pushed me back again.

"No, no," Octavian said. "Let him be by her. It'll make it worse for him."

I inched my way towards the note and managed to slip it in the palm of my hand.

"Give me the vial."

The guard walked to where it had fallen and handed it to Octavian.

"I've been waiting for this moment for a long time," he whispered into my face. "I've wanted to see you fail, Jackson, and now I'll be able to witness it. Any last words?"

"Save the stupid speech. Go to Tartarus."

"Hmm, I was expecting better. Oh, well."

He uncapped the vial. I looked away and looked at Annabeth.

"Say goodbye to your memories."

And the Lethe fell into my mouth.

* * *

I was lying on my back again. I blinked a couple times and realized that I was back in Hypnos's cave.

I couldn't believe what I'd just seen. I couldn't even comprehend. My thoughts were screaming and buzzing, and it felt like chaos in my head. My head felt sore just from trying to understand what had just happened.

The flashlight was lying on the ground, extremely dim now, but still able to light up the cave slightly.

I groaned and looked around.

There was someone standing over me.

"Percy…" a low voice hissed.

_Uh oh._

I rolled away just in time.

"Come here and face me, Percy! What happened to being the Hero of the Titan War?" Annabeth yelled, kicking empty air where my head used to be.

"I'm not going to fight you, Annabeth!" I said, jumping behind Mrs. O'Leary a second time.

"Give me my knife, Percy!" she shouted, trying to get at me over Mrs. O'Leary's large back.

"No—"

"You are such an—!"

"_Just let me explain_!" I yelled angrily. "Oh, my gods! Have you ever even _thought_ about my side of the story? Do you think I would honestly do something like that? I would've thought that would have crossed your apparently brilliant mind! Sometimes you let your emotions take over, and I can never get anything out! Just let me TALK!"

She looked surprised, and she froze. "What?" she said quietly.

"_There was a reason_! The whole time! I would…never _ever_ do something like that. And now that I know that you would believe that for a second I would…just…" my voice faltered.

She glared at me. "Then explain. What gives you such a good excuse to just _wipe my memories and shatter my heart_?!"

"I was threatened!" I shouted.

"Oh, _threatened_," she scoffed. "And I thought you could just get over it, you being Percy Jackson and all. So strong and brave."

"IT WASN'T LIKE THAT!" I screamed, finally losing my temper. My voice dropped to a whisper as emotion took over. "Octavian. You have no idea. He captured us. Placed us in different cells far away from each other. He said there was no hope of escape. I didn't know where you were. If I didn't do this, you would die, and then I would. Every option was death for both me and you unless I did it. I had to be convincing. I had to…break you. Break myself. And don't think for a minute that I ever wanted to do something like this. It…practically killed me."

Her mouth dropped open, and it looked like she was going to fall over. She started to say something, but I cut her off.

"But I had something that Octavian didn't. I knew that there might be one way for us to regain our memories, and then fight back. I wrote myself a note. And you remember this. You read it yourself. I'd hoped that Hypnos would be able to help us. And once we did get our memories back, we could fight back. Free everyone that Octavian has oppressed and get rid of him—permanently."

"I—"

"The letter was vague. I get that. I know. But now that I have my memories back, I know what I have to do. And whether you do it with me or not, I don't care."

I took in a deep shuddery breath, feeling exhausted.

Annabeth looked speechless. Her mouth opened and closed several times, and she stared at me, eyes misty and out of focus.

I didn't say anything. I looked right back at her, breathing heavily.

"Percy…" she whispered.

I just stared at her.

She walked around Mrs. O'Leary, and I didn't move. She stopped until we were inches apart.

"I can't even…I don't know what…"

And she started to cry.

"I'm so sorry...for everything. For blaming you, for letting my emotions—"

"Stop," I whispered. "If anyone should apologize, it should be me. And there is no amount of any apology that could measure up to what I've done."

She fell against me and held me tight, crying hard. I just held her until she calmed down.

"I can't…" she said wetly. "I can't even…how could you have done all this? It doesn't even seem possible."

She wasn't saying it to blame, or in anger. I knew it. I didn't even know how I managed to do it. I could have broken down at any time, but I managed to get through it, and here I was.

"I don't know. I honestly don't know."

She looked up and gazed at me.

And then we kissed.

**:')**

**DISCLAIMER: I understand that some (cough, most) dialogue in the "retrieving memories" bit is incorrect. It was a lot of dialogue from every book, and I honestly did not feel like looking up every exact chapter and every exact page of what they exactly say. So I paraphrased. You understand, right?**

**Also, the longest bit is when Octavian and Percy have their little schpiel. I made that be the longest because it was the most dramatic part of his life, I believe, and also I think I was a genius when I was writing and I think that is my favorite part of the entire story. Just because of how I wrote it. And how dramatic it was. And it was just plain awesome-even though it's sad.**

**THANK YOU to everyone who put up with my absentness. I know I said I would never be one of those authors who never updates, but in my defense, we didn't hit a month in non-posting. Just two weeks. Ish.**

**Also, on a random note, I got new glasses today. I like them.**

**Another one, I love the band Imagine Dragons. Their new album came out a couple days ago. Of course I bought it right when it came out. It was the thing I listened to the whole time I wrote this chapter.**

**I'll see you THIS SUNDAY I ABSOLUTELY PROMISE. I WILL KILL MYSELF IF I DON'T UPDATE THEN.**

**Just kidding. That's a bit _too_ dramatic.**

**Okay, this Author's Note is getting ridiculous.**

**OKAY BYE.**

**P.S. _I am so s__orry! _ Ugh, I'm mad at myself right now.**


	28. Chapter 27: Fight

**DISCLAIMER: I've figured that I haven't done any of these in a while, since I find them pointless to do. I mean, this site is called FANfiction. Obviously, none of us are Rick Riordan, considering he's busy working on other books so he can't really get on this site to post, and also, why would he do that? so I don't think that this is necessary. And, the only things that you can submit are FAN written stories. So, yeah, disclaimer can just die.**

**In case you didn't get any of that, I'm not Rick, so now we can just carry on, skipping down rainbows and eating cupcakes like we used to.**

**Anywho, away from that, hello! I'm updating on Sunday, like I said. Yippee and yay and all of that!**

**Let it commence.**

Annabeth

Red was behind my eyelids. I opened them, pulling away from Percy, and looked around. We weren't in Hypnos's cave anymore. We were standing outside of DOA recording studios, and people were glaring at us.

"Keep your affection to yourself," an old man grumbled as he pushed past us, and hitting our ankles with his cane for good measure. "Kids these days…"

I glanced back at Percy, who looked sheepish. "Uh, sorry!" he called.

I rolled my eyes. "Come on, Seaweed Brain," I said, grabbing his arm and hauling him behind me.

"Yes, Wise Girl," Percy said.

My heart nearly jumped out of my chest. I hadn't heard that in…months. It felt like years. Decades.

Getting my memories back was an incredible feeling. No longer did I feel like there were walls around in my mind, blocking everything I tried to remember. I didn't feel like there was an empty void, either. I couldn't even describe the feeling of having my memories gone. I could hardly remember it, too. Now that I could recall everything, it made me think how helpless I was before. How had I even managed to make it this far?

"Um, Annabeth?" Percy asked, interrupting my thought. "Where are we going?"

I stopped and looked around. We were standing on a cracked sidewalk, in the middle of some buildings. Their slanted shadows fell into one another, and the alley was dark. Trash was blowing down the street, and a McDonalds wrapper hit Percy on his face.

"What—? Why does this always happen to me?" he groaned, peeling the greasy paper off his face.

I smirked, thinking about the DOA flyer that stuck to his face from my mom. Why did my mom help me, anyway? I thought we were out of touch from the gods. And Hypnos.

After thinking about it, I realized that he slept most of the time anyway, so he probably didn't get the memo.

I looked around again. I didn't know where we were. I let my mind wander, and I had taken turns at random.

"Great," I muttered.

"We're lost, aren't we?" Percy asked.

"No. We are not _lost_. We're just in…someplace new," I insisted.

"Yeah. In other words, we're lost."

"We are _not_ lost, Percy Jack—!" I started to yell.

Percy's hand clamped over my mouth. "Quiet! Do you hear that?"

My ears perked up. I pushed his hand off my face.

"What is that?" Percy whispered.

Laughter echoed down the alley, and several sounds of footsteps made their way around the corner where we were.

"Trouble," I said.

Percy grabbed my hand and ducked behind some disgusting dumpsters. I was a bit too late.

"Oi, boys. Lookie what we have here," a voice drawled.

I whirled around and saw six boys saunter towards me. They were dressed in expensive clothes, and the leader had a smirk on his face. He had dark hair that fell into his eyes, and cologne and alcohol filled my nose. I resisted the urge to gag.

I'd seen these idiots before. Percy, Grover, and I ran into them on our first quest.

Great.

"Looks like girlie here's lost. Should we show her around?" the leader asked. The boys cheered and wolf-whistled and looked at me with hungry glints in their eyes.

I saw Percy start stand up from behind the dumpster, but I shot him a look. He went down, but stared at me hard.

"Who, me?" I giggled. I could image what Aphrodite would say when I saw her next.

"She's a hot one, too," another kid said.

The leader walked forward and gave a mock bow. "The names Lucas. And yours?"

"Miranda," I said quickly. Just a bit closer…

"Well, Miranda, you can call me Luke," he said, walking even closer. Suddenly, his hand whipped out and took my face. "You're a pretty one, and I swear I've seen you before. I could, uh, take you somewhere private."

I glared. "Yeah, right."

And I kicked him in the groin.

He howled and fell backwards. His five cronies jumped to attention, and one of them pulled out a switchblade. I unsheathed my knife. They immediately backed up, but Lucas didn't. He lunged, and I swung. The knife passed right through him, and he fell to the ground, shock on his face. "How—? This has happened before!" he yelped.

Yelling in frustration, I threw my knife aside, and jumped in the air and kicked a guy in the head that was sneaking up behind me. He screamed and fell down.

The boy with the switchblade took a stab, and I nimbly jumped out of the way.

"Percy!" I yelled. "Now would be a good time!"

Percy jumped out from behind the dumpster.

"She's got a guy with her! And he's—!" another kid started to say before being punched in the gut by Percy.

In seconds, they were either out cold or groaning on the ground.

I leaned over Lucas. "What was that about showing me around?" I asked.

He just moaned in response.

"Yeah, I thought so," I said, and I kicked him in the side for good measure.

I stepped over their doubled-over bodies, and took hands with Percy.

"I'm glad I'm on your good side," he said, looking at me sideways.

"Me, too," I said, bending over and picking up my knife. "Because then I'd have to take you out, and it would be too easy."

"Whatever," he smirked. "Who was the one who beat Kronos?"

"Luke," I retorted. My voice then caught in my throat.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Percy asked, looking concerned. "I was joking about what I said before. I know you can beat me up."

"It's not that," I said. "Sorry, I'm just being stupid."

"Nothing's stupid if it matters to you," Percy said. We turned another corner and found a bench in plenty of sunlight, away from hobos and muggers. We sat down, and he rubbed his thumb against my hand. "What is it?"

"It's just…Luke," I said.

"I thought you were over him," Percy said, his voice sounding slightly flat.

"I am. It's just, that other kid's name was Luke, and—"

"It's freaking you out," Percy finished.

"Yeah. And his look of pain…it looked just like _him_ before he died, and—you know what? Forget it," I said, shaking my head. "It doesn't matter anymore."

"Are you sure?" Percy asked, looking at me intently.

"I'm sure. I'm fine. Don't worry. I'm just a little…shaken up, is all."

Percy half-smiled. "It's probably because those boys were hitting on you. That's never happened to you before, has it?"

"Hey, you've hit on me plenty of times."

"That doesn't count. I'm your boyfriend."

My heart jumped a little when he said that. He was _my_ boyfriend. I still couldn't get over it.

"Yeah," I sighed, and I put my head on his shoulder. "I'm glad you're back, Percy. Like, really back. No more kidnapping, no more memory loss. You're completely here, _back_, with me."

"Me, too," he sighed, putting his head on top of mine. "I've missed you too much, memory loss and all. And that's happened to me twice, now."

I sat up and glared at him. "You better not pull anymore surprise crap on me, Percy Jackson, because I've been through enough of it already. Don't tell me that you have some secret Latin girlfriend hiding in Camp Jupiter that I don't know about."

He looked surprised, and then started to grin. "I promise, there's nothing else. You are the one and only, Annabeth Chase."

I leaned back into the bench, satisfied. "Two times you've lost your memory…it better not happen again."

"I hope it doesn't," he said.

**Eh, just a slight filler, with some slight action in it and some slight Percabeth. Wee!**

**It's weird writing about them with their memories back, now. I have to remember that they're not clueless anymore XD If I mess up in any of that, bear with me. That's been the majority of the story so far, and it might take me a while to get out of that mojo.**

**I have school tomorrow. Blegh.**

**Anyways, I'll see you guys next Sunday, if not sooner!**

**OKAY BYE.**

**P.S. I LOVE LORD OF THE RINGS. I listened to the Theme of Rohan the entire time I wrote this chapter. I just love the violin in it :) I'm also reading the book. Phew.**

**P.P.S. You guys. We are _so _close to _200 REVIEWS_. We just need four more. Let's make this magic happen, people! Yeah!**


	29. Chapter 28: Advantage

**Oh. My. Gods.**

**we hit 200 reviews. _We hit 200 reviews. _WE HIT 200 REVIEWS!**

**And to make it better, not only do we have 200 reviews, but we have _222_ REVIEWS! Two hundred and twenty-two! You guys are seriously the best readers I could ask for. All of you are so kind in your reviews, and always have suggestions, things I could work on, and just extremely nice compliments. Wow. There really isn't anything I can say right now except _thank you_.**

**Also, congrats to the 200th reviewer, PercabethAndZebrasFTW! I have something in mind for the story that you can contribute to (if you want to, of course), and I will PM you soon for details! Woohoo!**

**Another thing. (Sorry about this Author's Note. Slightly long. Heh.) Some people were wondering who those boys were in the gang. I promise they're real! If you would be so kind as to pull out your copy of The Lightning Thief, I will tell you where they are.**

**Please turn to the chapter "We Shop for Water Beds" on page 266. Then turn to page 276. They're only in the story for about a page, but I felt like I could play off of them.**

**Gah, now that this monster is all done…**

**Let it commence.**

Octavian

His head hit the desk hard. He snapped his head up, snorting, and looked around, bewildered. Realizing that he had fallen asleep, he groaned and rubbed his temples. A paper had stuck to his cheek when he smacked into the desk, and he peeled it off, glancing at it and slouching into his chair.

_Current Status:_

_New Rome remains secure. Prisoners have not started riot in several days. Behavior is rising positively._

_Reyna still stubborn. Refuses to cooperate. Frank in extreme captivity. Shows no sign of rebellion. Remains quiet._

_Percy and Annabeth not yet found. Expanded our forces of search from Oakland to Anaheim._

_Arion still wild. Shows no improvement of becoming broken. Injured five and killed one. Currently locked down in secure cage._

_No more have been added to the First Cohort._

_Current soldier numbers: 400 strong_

Octavian folded and threw the thick piece of paper back on the desk and rubbed his eyes. Things were getting stressful. Gaea had been keeping a close watch on him, and he knew that her followers were spying on him from a distance. He could always feel their watchful eyes on the back of his neck. Just thinking about them made the hairs on his arms stand up.

The ground always seemed soft wherever he stepped, and he knew it was a warning from Gaea. Just with a twitch of the mouth, he could be sucked in a suffocated in seconds.

He was running out of time.

The piece of paper knocked into an open ink bottle, and both of the items flew off the desk and onto the floor. The glass bottle shattered, and red ink spattered everywhere.

Letting out a frustrated yell and muttering strings of curses under his breath, both in Latin and English, he picked up the pieces of glass and threw them in the garbage bin. His fingers were stained red as he picked up the piece of paper, and it left crimson prints on the surface.

He straightened up and tossed the paper back on the desk.

Octavian was about to leave the room when something caught his eye.

And it wasn't there a second ago.

It was a yellow envelope with a jet black wax seal on the back. His name was written in jagged, bold handwriting on the front.

"What the—?" he hissed, breaking the seal open.

The envelope started to smoke and turn hot. Letting out a yelp, he dropped the envelope and started to suck on his fingers. Ink stained his lips, and he started to gag.

The envelope was slowly crumbling to ash, leaving a paper the same color on the floor. It didn't have a scorch mark on it, even though glowing embers were on top of it.

Octavian stared at the paper, fear on his face.

Gathering the courage, he bent over and, with trembling fingers, brushed the cooling ashes off the paper.

He nearly dropped the paper when he read it.

_They are coming. Doom is on the horizon._

They…

Percy and Annabeth.

Octavian set the paper on his desk, smirking. The person who left this was putting him ahead, not bringing him down. They thought this was intimidating? This was putting him at an advantage.

He'd be ready for them.

And he would do whatever it would take.

**Just a shorty-short chapter today. We got 200 REVIEWS which meant a chapter with Octavian! Woohoo!**

**Also, I just felt like writing today, so that's why there's an update. But don't worry, I will also update tomorrow!**

**Okay, the A/N is longer than the actual chapter (not really) so I'm going to go now.**

**OKAY BYE.**

**P.S. 200 DANG REVIEWS! ASDJFKL;A**


	30. Chapter 29: Addition

**Woo! Chapter 29!**

**I don't know if I'll be able to finish this story by Mark of Athena. Probably not. BUT, that does not mean that I won't stop writing! This story will still continue, even if Mark of Athena comes out. It might be annoying because you'll have two parallel things going on, but I'm not planning on discontinuing this story. It's obnoxious when authors do that, because I think that if you start a story, you commit to finishing it. So that's what I'm doing.**

**Let it commence.**

Annabeth

We sat together on the bench for a while. It was like we were trying to avoid what was waiting for us in Camp Jupiter. We had to leave quickly, though. I didn't know how long the Greeks would fare being chained up in New Rome.

"Annabeth—" Percy started to say.

"Percy, we need to get to Camp Jupiter as fast as we can," I said, talking over him. "We can't let Octavian think he's won, because he hasn't."

He gave me a tiny smile. "I was just about to say that."

"Good," I said, standing up. "This means we're on the same page. Let's go."

I took his hand and helped him get up. I started to feel slightly nervous, and my hand jumped to my back pocket. My hat was still there, and it made me feel slightly better.

"Okay…" Percy said, "How do we get out of here?"

"I'm not…sure," I said, looking around as if a floating arrow would point me in the right direction. "I don't even remember how we got to DOA Recording Studios."

"Wait!" Percy said. He put his hand in his front pocket and pulled out a folded orange piece of paper. "If we look at the map on the flyer, we can just retrace our steps and get back to the beach."

I stared at him.

"What?" he asked, looking uncomfortable.

"Percy, that's genius!" I said.

"Oh," he said, starting to get a stupid grin on his face. "Sometimes I have my moments." I swear he puffed out his chest a bit.

"Yeah, but they don't happen very often. When they do, it's a miracle," I said.

Percy scowled. "You always know how to ruin it for me, don't you?"

"It's my job, Seaweed Brain. Now hand me the flyer."

He begrudgingly handed me the flyer, and I looked at the map.

"I know where we are," I said. "I guess I did know where I was going when we went into that alley. The beach is just down there a couple blocks." I pointed down the street.

We started to walk, our shoulders gently bumping into each other. We didn't say much. We just took in each other's presence again. It was like we were making up for the lost time.

"Annabeth," Percy said suddenly.

"Yeah?"

"I've been thinking…"

"That can't be good."

He glared at me. "Hear me out. How long exactly did we spend in Hypnos's cave?"

"What?"

"When we got to DOA, it was starting to get dark. And when he teleported us out, it's morning. And when we fought the _leukrokottas_, it was light outside, too."

"I don't…know."

Percy frowned, looking ahead.

"I think that time speeds up in his cave," I said. "You know how when you go to sleep, right when you close your eyes, it feels like you wake up even though it's been hours? I think his cave has the same effect, considering he is the god of sleep and all."

Percy looked at me, satisfied. "Thanks for clearing that up. I was just wondering."

"Yeah…how long have we been in there, exactly? I'm really curious, now."

A man was walking down the street towards us.

"Excuse me," I said, stopping him. "Can you tell me what the date is?"

He told me.

"Uh, thank you," I said, my insides twisting. I walked back to Percy, feeling sick.

"What is it?"

"Percy, we've been in there for five days. _Five days_."

His jaw dropped. "_Five_?"

"Oh, gods. What has happened to Camp Jupiter since we've left? What's happened to Jason? Leo? Coach Hedge? _Malcolm_?"

"Jason? Leo? Coach Hedge?" Percy said, looking confused.

"We've got to hurry," I said, grabbing his hand.

* * *

Percy and I were practically running through the streets, trying to find the beach and a bus station that could take us to San Francisco.

We were sprinting down a street, trying to avoid knocking over as many people as possible when disaster hit.

"We've found them! Send a message to Octavian immediately!"

Percy and I skidded to a stop and turned around.

Four people in purple t-shirts were running towards us, three boys and one girl. And they had swords strapped to their sides and were quickly pulling them out. Mortals shrieked and dove to the ground. They probably thought the swords were guns.

"Run!" I screamed, grabbing Percy's hand again.

I don't think I've ever run so fast in my life. The people from Camp Jupiter were gaining on us fast.

"We'll have to fight them," Percy gasped between breaths.

I jumped over a coffee table where an outdoor café was set up and twisted my way around the maze of chairs. Percy was right behind me, mirroring my movements.

"That should hold them off!" I said, running faster. I looked behind me and saw one of the pursuers trip over a chair and do a face-plant, taking out two others. The fourth-the girl-managed to jump over them and run after us.

"Wait, stop!" she called.

"Forget what I said about holding them off!" I yelled.

Percy ran ahead of me, and suddenly dove down a small street. I barely managed to turn fast enough. We ducked behind a stand advertising some marked down price, breathing heavily. The girl from Camp Jupiter ran down the street and didn't notice us.

I leaned against the building, trying to get my breathing in order.

"If there are four of them that know that we're in LA, we've got to get out of here soon. Like, now," I wheezed.

Percy nodded, not saying anything.

After getting my heart rate back to normal and checking to see if any more of them were around, I stood up and walked around the stand.

"What is this place?" Percy said, looking up at the building.

I squinted, trying to read the words. I could read short sentences without too much trouble, but this was hard. It looked like it said RAODS ROTSAGE NUTI.

Percy squinted, trying to read the sign. "I can't read it."

After concentrating hard enough, the words finally managed to make sense. "I think it says Dora's Storage Unit."

"Huh," Percy said. "Too bad it's not a bus station and that we don't have time. Let's go."

"Where did they go?" a rough voice said around the corner.

"Let's check down here," another said.

"Looks like we have time," I said quickly. I jumped inside the building, Percy right behind me. We managed to slam the door shut just before they ran down the street.

"That was close," Percy said.

I nodded and turned around to find a sword pointed at my throat.

"Just kidding," Percy said in a small voice.

Instead of slicing my neck open, the girl lowered her sword and sheathed it.

It was the person who was chasing us earlier.

Percy quickly uncapped Riptide and aimed it at her. "What do you want? How did you know we were in here? We were hiding from you."

She raised her eyebrows. "I used the back door," she said, gesturing to it.

"How did you know we were coming in here?" Percy repeated.

"When you try to hide behind a small sign with two people, is slightly obvious."

"Why didn't you get us, then?" I asked.

"Because I'm not going to turn you in to Octavian, that's why," the girl said, leaning against a counter.

I narrowed my eyes. She seemed to be about sixteen or seventeen, and she had short strawberry blonde hair. She was extremely tan with lots of freckles, and had small scars dotting her arms and legs, probably from combat. Her purple t-shirt was slightly loose, and she was wearing cutoff jeans that went to the middle of her thighs. She had an air of confidence, but she didn't seem cocky. If I had met her in a different situation, I would have thought she looked nice.

Percy slowly brought the cap to the tip of Riptide and it shrank back into a pen, but he didn't put it away; he clenched in his fist at his side.

"Who are you?" I finally asked.

"Bethany Crowne, daughter of Victoria," she replied easily, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Victoria?" Percy asked.

"Victoria is the Roman counterpart of Nike, goddess of victory," I told him.

Percy nodded, but didn't take his eyes off her. "I still don't understand..."

"What I'm doing?" she asked. "Octavian has completely taken over New Rome, and not in a good way. He's imprisoned Reyna and all of her followers, but no one knows where. I never agreed with anything that he did, even though I'm in a high cohort. When he took over, instead of becoming imprisoned like the others, I decided to be a double-agent of sorts. I had a feeling that I would be the one to find you, so I volunteered to be sent out. And when a child of Victoria has a feeling of accomplishment or winning, it's hardly ever wrong."

"So you knew that you would find us?" I asked.

Bethany nodded. "I'm completely on your side. But I can understand if you don't trust me."

Percy finally put his pen away. "You want to join us."

"If you'll let me," Bethany said.

He sighed. I looked at him and shrugged. She seemed trustworthy, and if we had someone who had been on the inside of Camp Jupiter, it would be one of our greatest assets.

"If you turn me away, I can swear on the River Styx that I won't tell anyone that I've found you. I'll keep you secret," Bethany said.

"Alright," Percy said. "This has happened extremely fast, a bit _too_ fast, but we really need someone from Camp Jupiter on our side, especially one who has been on the inside for such a long time. But, this doesn't mean that we completely trust you. One bad move…" Percy let the threat hang as he pulled out Riptide, but Bethany seemed satisfied.

"I understand. I would be slow to trust, too."

I glanced at Percy. For some reason, I knew that we could trust Bethany. Maybe it was just a gut instinct—and sometimes they're wrong—but it felt good.

"Well, I guess our group as gone from two to three," I said, trying to lift the tension.

Bethany grinned. Percy still seemed apprehensive.

"Two to three," he said quietly.

***insert trumpet fanfare here* A NEW CHARACTER! *confetti***

**This fine character here belongs to PercabethAndZebrasFTW! Since she was the 200th reviewer, she had the opportunity to have her own character become part of this story. Also, this works well because I'll be appealing to another reviewer who said I should include a band of demigods that help storm New Rome. And so it shall happen.**

**The reason why I didn't say "_If you're the 200th reviewer you get an OC in the story!_" because I wanted it to be a surprise, and shock the reviewer with my PM. I just like surprises is all.**

**I hope you guys like Bethany! I think she's pretty awesome, and I can't wait to see how her personality spins out during the story. Thank you, PAZFTW!**

**I think that's it. I'll see you guys for sure next Sunday, but I might see you sooner during the week. We'll see!**

**OKAY BYE.**


	31. Chapter 30: Returned

**WARNING: LONG AUTHOR'S NOTE AHEAD**

**Hey guys!**

**Sorry I've been MIA for a so long. I was gone last week to my cabin over the weekend, I'm leaving over the weekend _again_ this week. And, since it's FALL BREAK for me, I have time to post! The main reason why I haven't posted in like, two weeks, is because I've had a lot of homework, what with my three AP classes, studying for the ACT, and basically having a meltdown about college.**

**Normal stuff.**

**I'm not done with all of that stuff, but I feel like I should take a well-deserved break. So here I am.**

**ALSO,**

**MARK OF FREAKING ATHENA.**

**I finished it in like, three days, and I promise I won't say anything! I do not spoil! It's annoying when people do! There will be no hints or spoilers to it in this story, also. (because it's _before_ Mark of Athena happens. Also, I know it won't tie in perfectly with the book because I started this before the book came out. Meh.)**

**Once I finished the book, I felt like I died a little inside because I read it so fast, so I needed some closure. So I reread the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series again. Over three days. I've just been in a huge Percy mood. Also, to settle it, I've been staring at art by burdge-bug on DeviantART. I still don't know how I feel. I still feel like there's a gaping hole in my chest because I have to wait ANOTHER YEAR FOR HOUSE OF HADES TO COME OUT, DANG IT. Now that he doesn't have Kane Chronicles to worry about, can't he just publish it a little faster? Just a little? I'm totally fine with it coming out in, like, June or July. But OCTOBER?! NO. I WON'T STAND FOR IT.**

**So let the flood of House of Hades fanfictions commence.**

**And, also let this commence.**

Percy

Bethany seemed nice, but I was still cautious. You never knew when something like this could bite you in the butt later. She did swear on Styx that she wouldn't turn us in, so that made me feel a bit better about trusting her.

"Let's check and see what provisions we have," Annabeth said lightly. She glanced at me uneasily, but I kept my face straight. Her mouth was a line, but she turned back to Bethany.

By some unknown miracle, we'd managed to keep the backpack that Frank had given us the entire time. Annabeth slid it off and dumped the contents on the counter that Bethany was leaning on.

There were some crushed remains of granola bars, the thermos full of nectar, ambrosia squares, the flashlight, the ACE bandage, a smaller wad of cash than we'd started out with, and three golden _drachma_.

"We also have this useless flyer," I said, dropping the DOA advertisement on the pile.

"I have some more mortal money that we can use to get us to Camp Jupiter," Bethany said, pulling out a baggie with several twenties in it from her pocket. "I also have some _denarii_, if that'll help."

Annabeth surveyed the pile, a finger in her mouth. "This seems good. We might need to stop somewhere and get food, because all we have now is some granola bars that won't feed all of us. It might be a problem now that we know that there are other people looking for us here."

Bethany grimaced. "Sorry. They wouldn't let me go alone."

Annabeth nodded as if she expected this. "It's fine. We could always use you to scout ahead. They won't be looking for you, just me and Percy."

"Sounds good," Bethany said. "What weapons do we have?"

"I have my knife and Percy has his pen that turns into a sword," Annabeth replied.

"I also have a sword, and I have an extra knife as well," Bethany said. "I've also looked around, and the ways to leave the building are through the door that you came through, the back door, and a loading area where all of the sheds are for storage."

Realizing that I wasn't a part of the conversation anymore, I walked away from them and started looking around. Even though this place seemed like it was open on the outside, it looked abandoned. Boxes were stacked in the corners of the room, and empty shelves had a thin layer of dust on them. None of the lights were turned on, and the only source of light was from the sun that made it through the slightly grimy windows.

Nothing in the room looked interesting to dig through, so I started to walk back towards Bethany and Annabeth when something caught my eye.

Behind the counter, there was another door, and it wasn't one that Bethany had mentioned. It was slightly open, and it looked like a dim light was coming from the crack.

"Hey, guys…" I said, staring at the door. "What is this?"

They didn't hear me; they just kept talking about ways to leave LA and get food.

"Annabeth? Bethany? Hello?"

They kept talking, not even reacting to what I was saying.

Feeling annoyed that I was being ignored and making a face behind their backs, I scowled at them and walked around the counter. Old keys were hanging on hooks, probably for the storage units. More boxes were underneath the counter, and a whiteboard mounted on the wall by the door read in dull blue: _Closing soon! Be sure to get your belongings and possessions quickly!_

Looking back at the girls one more time, and my curiosity getting the better of me, I uncapped my pen and nudged the door open with my sword.

It swung open easily. The light was coming from a single bare lightbulb hanging from the ceiling by a string. It was spotlighting a jar.

It was huge, and had intricate paintings and carvings on it. I walked towards it, trying to get a better look.

The jar was the only thing in the room. Nothing else. It came up to my waist, and was jet black covered in orange pictures. The paintings looked like a person giving fire to other people. I knew that pottery sometimes told stories about the gods, and I guessed that it was the story of Prometheus.

The jar looked extremely familiar.

With a jolt I realized what it was.

Pandora's Jar.

How it had gotten inside a storage unit, I had no idea—

Dora's Storage Unit.

_Dora's_ Storage Unit.

Pandora.

"What the—?"

"Percy?"

Annabeth's voice rang through the silence. It felt like cotton was removed from my ears, and the dull pounding of my heart ringing in my head turned into a quieter throb.

"Where are you?" she called.

"Back here," I said, still staring at the _pithos_.

Annabeth pushed open the door, and she and Bethany walked in. Bethany immediately put her hand on her sword.

"This wasn't here before…" she muttered.

"What do you mean?" Annabeth asked.

"I did a scout of the building before you came in. I don't remember room here, much less a door." Her eyes darted around the room, looking for escape options.

Annabeth turned slightly pale, and turned even whiter when she saw what was sitting in the middle of the room.

"But that's—"

"I know."

"But how—?"

"I don't know."

"But I thought—"

"Me too."

Bethany's hand was lying on the hilt of her sword. "What is it?"

"Pandora's Jar," Annabeth replied. "I don't like this, Percy. I don't like this at all."

Bethany was still confused. "How do you know about it?"

I heaved a shaky sigh. "During the Titan War, Prometheus presented the jar to me. He said if I released Hope, he would know that we would surrender, but I didn't. I gave the jar to Hestia, and she said she would guard it. I don't know how it got here."

"We've got to get out of here," Annabeth said. "Right now."

"The jar will come when we're most vulnerable. We can't escape it."

Annabeth was scared. "I'd hate to think…when will we be vulnerable? When will we see it again?"

"I don't want to find out," Bethany said. "Stuff like this doesn't just happen. It's a sign."

"But a sign for what?" I asked, not really wanting to know.

Bethany didn't answer, and it felt like a cold fist had grabbed my stomach.

I slowly backed out of the room, Annabeth and Bethany right behind me. With every step, the jar felt like it was getting bigger and bigger. Once we were all out, I slammed the door shut.

Annabeth quickly shoved everything inside the backpack, and she and Bethany bolted out of the building.

Giving the area one last sweep with my eyes, and Riptide in full form, I ran out as well.

The door to the_ pithos _had vanished.

**Ooh! References to the Last Olympian! I love it!**

**I've decided that the Last Olympian is my favorite book in the PJO series. I just...love it so much.**

**Anywho, I'll hopefully see you on Sunday! I'll be back by then.**

**ALSO. NO SPOILERS FOR MARK OF ATHENA IN THE REVIEWS, PLEASE. I know that some people who are reading this story haven't read it yet, and I don't want it to be spoiled for them.**

**One more thing: I've been thinking about doing a story of just one shots. Should I, or should I not? I know that there are a lot already, but I enjoy reading them. If there's too much, let me know. I still might post it, even if you tell me "No!", but I just want a general opinion. I've been thinking about things to write about already, but I can't decide if it should just be Percy/Annabeth one shots, or just one shots in general. Like, a Demigod Diaries type thing. ****(I haven't read Demigod Diaries. No spoiling it for me, please!)**

**Tell me what you think!**

**OKAY BYE.**


	32. Chapter 31: Talk

**She's...ALLLIIVVEE!**

**Okay, school has pretty much taken over my life. The end of the term was yesterday, and I swear, my teachers decided to get together and say, "Plan tests all on the same day? Kay, cool!" I had to study for a Precalculus final, AP World final, AP Psych final, a Dance final, AND I had the ACT earlier today. My brain is pretty much fried.**

**So I wrote Percy Jackson to make me feel better. Yay!**

**Also, I started writing the first chapter of a Percy Jackson one shot, but MY COMPUTER DELETED IT BEFORE I COULD SAVE IT. It was like, six pages long in Word, and now it's gone.**

**GONE.**

**So now I need to work on that mumblegroancursecomputerands wearsomemore.**

**So, as I say every chapter...**

**Let it commence.**

Annabeth

My heart didn't stop pounding until we made it to the bus station. Bethany had used a shuttle line to get to LA, so she was able to show us where it was. Percy hastily purchased our tickets as Bethany and I sprawled out on one of the benches

How had the _pithos_ gotten away from Hestia? I knew that she was taking care of it, and I didn't think that she wouldn't watch it closely. What if—

Bethany interrupted my thoughts. She put hands on my head and shoved me behind a huge potted plastic plant next to the bench.

"Get down!" she hissed.

Before I could protest, a kid in a purple t-shirt walked up to Bethany. I pulled my knees to my chest, praying he wouldn't look to his right.

"Hey, Beth, how's it going?" the boy asked.

"Don't call me that, Nate," Bethany said.

He shrugged. "Were you able to find the Greeks? I saw you follow them down an alley."

Her gaze shifted quickly to where I was hiding, but he didn't notice.

"No, I didn't find them," she sighed, looking disappointed. She sounded convincing. Hopefully it would be enough.

"What're you doing in the bus station, then?" Nate asked.

Bethany rolled her eyes. "I don't think we'll be able to find them. Besides, now that they know that there are four of us here, I should go to camp and call for more back up. Octavian would have my head if he knew I saw them."

"Fair enough. Maybe I could join you on the bus? I got a call from Octavian saying that he wants me back, too," Nate said, sitting down next to her.

Bethany shifted slightly away from him on the bench, looking uncomfortable. "Uh, well…" She definitely shot me a look this time. _Help!_

I slipped on my invisibility cap and quietly crept behind the bench. I pulled out my knife, and hit him hard on the back of the head with the hilt. His body gave a jolt, and he slid off the bench and collapsed on the floor. Bethany stared in shock at Nate.

I pulled off my hat, and she jumped a foot in the air.

"What the—?"

"Invisibility hat," I said, putting it back in my pocket. I shot her a sideways glance. "He seemed…friendly."

Bethany scowled at Nate, still crumpled on the linoleum. "He and I—well, it didn't last very long. I broke it off."

"That's okay," I said. "Now, what the Hades are we going to do with him?"

Bethany looked at me weird when I said _Hades_, but she didn't say anything. "I have no idea—"

"What the _heck_?" a loud voice exclaimed.

I looked up and saw Percy standing by Nate's head, holding three bus tickets, his mouth wide open.

Bethany and I exchanged looks, and she cracked a smile.

"Ex-boyfriend," I said simply.

"He wanted to sit by me on the bus," Bethany said, shrugging.

"Do you do that to every boy who likes you?" Percy said, eyeing her warily.

"More or less."

Before Percy could retort, I interrupted him.

"_Anyway_, when he comes to, he'll know that something's up. We've got to get on the bus."

"Good idea," Bethany said, jumping to her feet.

She and I were about to walk away when Percy stopped us. "Wait."

He handed me the tickets and hoisted Nate up under the armpits. He slumped him over on the bench and tried to sit him up. Instead, Nate flopped over and hit his head on the arm rest.

"Good enough," Percy said.

Before watching mortals could look at us hauling a limp body around, we ran away from Nate and the bench.

Things got a little awkward when we were choosing seats. Percy was in the lead, Bethany behind him, and me in the back. Percy plopped down in the seat adjacent to the driver's seat, and Bethany, not thinking, sat down next to him. I stood there, shifting on my feet until she realized what she did.

"Oh, uh, sorry," she said, running a hand through her hair. "I'll just sit…okay."

She sat down across the aisle by herself, and I took the seat next to Percy, quickly taking his hand.

"Wait a second," I said, noticing something and shooting him a glare. "Why do you get the window seat _again_?"

"Because I'm the man of this relationship, that's why. And I'm not moving."

"Man of the relationship my butt…" I muttered.

I looked at Bethany and mouthed _boys_. She gave a small smile, but looked sad as she watched us.

I knew that look, but I was hesitant to say something. She had just seen her ex-boyfriend, and I had feeling she wasn't really over it, and by the looks of what happened earlier, he wasn't either.

Everyone got on the bus, and soon we were trundling down a freeway. Things were silent between the three of us for a while, and soon Percy's hand grew slack in mine, signaling that he had fallen asleep.

"I'm afraid of commitment," Bethany said suddenly. She had leaned her head against the seat in front of her, and she was watching me and Percy.

"Hmm?"

"Me and Nate. He and I were together for about a month before I broke it off. I'm just…afraid of people getting hurt that I get attached to. So I end it. I can't stand seeing something bad happen to…" she trailed off and heaved a sigh. "I don't know why I'm telling you this."

I looked at her sympathetically. She reminded me of Piper in some ways. "It's okay. If you ever want to talk, just let me know. I know that we've known each other for a total of about five hours, but I have a feeling we could be good friends."

She relaxed slightly. "How long have you and Percy been together?"

I leaned back in my chair, staring at the ceiling. "Well, we've been best friends since we were twelve. He just showed up at camp one day, collapsing inside the borders with the Minotaur horn in his hand. I was…reluctant of him at first, but that was me probably just denying my feelings for him. We've been on so many quests together, we fought in the Titan War together, and things just happened. After the War, we ended up officially together on his birthday. Of course, after that, he decides to go missing on me for six months, and we've just been reunited about two weeks ago or something. I can't quite remember. Things just happened so fast once we arrived in Camp Jupiter."

I'd blurted out the last part without thinking. I looked quickly at Bethany, but she didn't look offended.

"It's okay," she assured. "I agree with you. Camp Jupiter hasn't really done anything to earn the trust of you Greeks. Really, we've—well, Octavian mostly—have just ruined everything. I don't know if we'll ever be able to work together."

She looked sad again.

"Bethany, everything will be fine. The three of us can work together to bring peace. We've been able to get along just fine, right?"

She nodded, but didn't look convinced. "You and Percy seem perfect for each other," she said, changing the subject.

"I hope so," I said, looking at him slumped against the glass, drool trickling out of his mouth. I squeezed his hand and looked back at her. "I really want this to be something that lasts a long time."

"I'm sure it will," she said softly.

I realized that I probably made things worse. "Bethany, maybe things will work out between you and Nate. He seems to still really like you, and I think you still like him. You just need to get over your fear. Things will take their course, and if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. If you truly like each other, then you'll be able to make it through thick and thin. Relationships take sacrifices, but I can tell you they're worth it." I glanced back at Percy. "I've had to sacrifice some intelligence just standing to be around him sometimes, but we bring the best out of each other."

She drew in a shaky breath. "You're really easy to talk to, you know that? I feel like I can dump out everything to you." She paused. "Anyway, since I'm a daughter of Victoria, I always feel like I have to prove myself. Always be successful. Always know what to do and put on a tough face. I need everything to be perfect, and sometimes relationships…aren't. I get stressed out because things aren't running smoothly, so I back away. But then that makes me look weak, and goes against being successful. I just…put myself under too much pressure. I need to learn to relax, let things just run how they're supposed to, but sometimes it can just be…so _hard._" It looked like she was going to start crying, but she angrily blinked back the tears and hit the seat.

It looked like she was done talking, but I felt like I had to say one more thing. "No one can be perfect. We're all made up of flaws. Do you know what my flaw is? Pride. I think I can make everything better than what it is. Fix it. Even think I'm better than other people sometimes. But we need to learn to get over them, fight back, and conquer them. I know I'm not at that point yet, but I know I can be. I think my relationship with Percy helps. He keeps me grounded. He's so caring about everyone he loves, and we balance each other out. Maybe if you're in a relationship with Nate, he'll keep you grounded, too."

She sucked in a deep breath and nodded. She looked better, and even smiled at me. "Thanks, Annabeth. That means a lot."

"Don't worry about it," I said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Things will get better. They have to, right?"

**Yay! Character development!**

**Now you know more about the fabulous OC Bethany (owned, of course, by the lovely PercabethAndZebrasFTW)**

**Bethany is a fabulous character, tied up with self-torment and difficulties. I love it! Challenging to write, but extremely satisfying at the same time. :D**

**[PAZFTW, if I've done something wrong, as always, let me know!]**

**Anywho, I felt like Annabeth and Bethany needed some girl to girl talk, (thankfully, not like Bellatrix and Hermione. We all know how that disaster turned out) and on the bus seemed like the best place.**

**Also, I know it's a lot of words before an indent. Sorry. I was having too much fun.**

**I'll (hopefully) see you guys soon!**

**OKAY BYE.**


	33. Chapter 32: Insanity

_**ASDFJKL.**_

**_300 REVIEWS!_ Woohoo! And, as you know, whenever we hit a 100 mark, Octavian is involved in the story!**

**Let it commence. (Whee!)**

Annabeth

The bus drive to Oakland went into the night. Percy woke up for a couple minutes, and the three of us were laughing and making fun of each other and getting to know Bethany a bit more. Bethany and I didn't mention anything about the talk that we'd had together. We avoided the subject all together, and I didn't think that Percy knew anything about it either.

Silence soon fell between us again, and a few minutes later, we were all asleep.

* * *

I had a dream.

Even though I'd only seen Camp Jupiter for a split second, I recognized it instantly. But instead of a flashback on the Argo II, I was alone.

My dream-self walked through the deserted streets of New Rome. There was no bustle of a city, no one walking down the streets. The only company I had was the slight breeze rustling leaves.

I stopped outside a ring of bushes and shrubs, and I climbed inside. I recognized the place instantly. This is where Percy and I hid for a day while my forehead healed from the poisoned wound Octavian had given me.

My dream-self didn't hesitate in the hidden clearing. I walked confidently over to a patch of grass, and saw that it had grown strangely. It was slightly trampled, and it had small tufts poking in different directions.

I pulled out my knife and shoved it inside the earth. I heard a heavy _click_, and I pried open a hidden, rusted manhole. Looking around once, I hung my feet over the edge and dropped inside.

I landed lightly on my feet, and rolled in a somersault to break the fall. In front of me was a dank, old pipe with slime coating the sides. It was dimly lit by an unseen source. I climbed up the ladder and closed the manhole, dropped back down to the ground and then briskly walked down the tunnel. I kept one hand on my Yankees cap and the other on my knife, using its faint glow to guide me through the twists and turns.

I finally made it to an intersection in the pipes. I turned to the left, and walked several paces before coming to a large, thick door blocking the way. A small window with bars over it was in the middle of the door, and I peered inside.

It was a massive stone room. Chained to the wall with shackles was a girl with long, brown hair. It was in an extremely messy braid, and it looked like she was still wearing robes—a toga? Her head hung limply in between her shoulders, and her arms were shackled above her head. Her wrists looked worn raw.

Next to her was Leo, Jason, Piper, and everyone else that came on the Argo II, as well as what looked like some Romans who must have oppressed Octavian. It looked like there were over a hundred people locked inside.

No one even noticed that I was looking into the room. Piper sniffed, and Jason tried to move as close to her as the chains would allow. Leo even looked defeated. The light in his eyes was gone, and he just stared blankly at the ground.

After looking inside a few more seconds, I turned around and was about to leave when I heard voices echoing down from the tunnel. I whipped out my invisibility hat and slammed it on my head just in time.

Octavian rounded the corner with a guard walking along beside him. He had stained red lips and fingers, and he looked even more lank and pale. The bags under his eyes were prominent, and he looked insane.

The guard was carrying two sacks over his shoulders, and Octavian stepped forward to unlock the door. His elbow almost hit me in the stomach, and I bit back a gasp as I barely managed press myself against the wall in time.

Octavian opened the door, and the guard walked inside, throwing stale loaves of bread from the bags at the prisoners. Some didn't react as it hit them on the stomach, arm or face. They just stared sadly at the opened door.

Octavian walked inside the chamber.

"Reyna," he whispered, walking towards her.

The girl with the braid didn't look up.

He stopped in front of her.

"My offer still stands. Resume your position as praetor, and you'll be freed from this disgusting prison," he said.

"The only time this prison is disgusting is when you step foot in it," Reyna said, looking at him in the eye.

He kicked the bread at her feet away from her and slapped her across the mouth. She didn't make a sound.

"Stupid girl," he growled. "You don't know what's coming for you. The gods are ruined. Olympus will be destroyed. A new leader greater and powerful is gaining strength as we speak. You'll suffer more than you'll ever know!"

"I am not broken," she said defiantly.

"Oh, I'm sure you're not. But you will be. If I've managed to break Percy Jackson, I can certainly break _you_."

Reyna didn't flinch. "And where's Percy now? He's escaped, and he'll be back for your blood if I don't get it first."

The color drained slightly from his face, but it was quickly wiped away with a smirk. "I know he's coming, and I'm ready for him. I've receive an…ah…anonymous _tip_ from someone. He'll be dead soon like the rest of you."

He turned to the guard. "Send word to the Cohorts. Tell them to burn the city if Reyna doesn't comply."

Octavian started to walk away, and Reyna started to thrash in her chains. "Octavian! _You monster!_ You'll never get the loyalty of New Rome! You're death is on the horizon! The gods will have their revenge!"

He tsked. "Empty words, I'm afraid. I'll give you until dusk."

He was about halfway across the room when he stopped in his tracks, his head cocked to one side.

I'd seen that before, and I started to run.

"Intruder! _Intruder!_" he shrieked. He pulled out a knife and, with incredible aim, threw it straight at my throat

* * *

I woke up, the knife inches from my neck.

I gasped and sat up from Percy's lap, feeling extremely cold.

Percy looked startled. "What is it?"

"Reyna," I said, grabbing his shoulder. "Who's Reyna?"

"R-Reyna?" Percy asked, looking scared. "How do you know who she is?"

"Reyna?" a voice asked. Bethany had woken up, and she looked concerned. "She's our leader. Our praetor."

"New Rome…" I muttered. "New Rome will burn because of her."

"What?!" Bethany shrieked. Several passengers hissed at her to be quiet.

"Octavian. He has her chained up. If she doesn't join him by tonight, he'll burn the city down."

"Annabeth," Percy said, taking my face in his hands. "What happened in your dream?"

I started to explain what I'd seen: all the prisoners chained to walls, how insane Octavian looked, how he knew we were coming, and Reyna's decision.

Percy looked pale, and Bethany looked like she was shaking from anger.

"Where we hid…you mean we were at the entrance of the prison that whole time?" Percy asked.

I nodded. "At least we know where to go."

"When I get my sword at him—" Bethany hissed, looking murderous.

Before Percy or I could reply, the driver announced on the intercom, "Thank you for riding with us today. Enjoy your stay in Oakland."

We all looked at each other.

"It's time to storm Camp Jupiter," Percy said.

**Dun dun duuunn!**

**Questions will be answered soon! Who was the person who left the note to Octavian? Will the trio be able to sneak into Camp Jupiter without being caught? What will be Reyna's decision?**

**These questions and more will be answered in the next installment of Forgotten! Or maybe the installment after that. We'll see.**

**OKAY BYE.**

**P to the S. If there are any other unanswered questions, feel free to drop me a review or PM. I don't want to leave any loose threads hanging at the end of the story.**

**Thanks, guys!**

**For some reason, it felt like I was screaming the whole time in the Author's Notes. Eh, oh well.**


	34. Chapter 33: Joined

**Hello, my friends! Here is the next chapter! (duh.)**

**Also, I did it in Percy's point of view. I figured I haven't done that in a while.**

**Kay cool.**

**Let it commence.**

Percy

We waited until everyone got off the bus. I took Annabeth's hand in mine, and it was sweaty and clammy. Her face was still pale from the dream, and with her other hand she was messing with her hair; tucking it behind her ear, pushing it behind her shoulders, and bringing it forward again.

Bethany walked down the aisle, with Annabeth and me behind her. We stepped into the street, and Bethany walked quickly behind a luggage cart. We followed her and ducked behind it.

"I have a feeling that this station will be crawling with guards," Bethany said. "We need to find a way out of the station and to the entrance of the tunnel without getting caught and as quietly as we can so they won't know what we're doing until we hit them from behind." She bit her lip. "Yeah, this is _totally _going to work."

"I can use my hat to take down the guards at the tunnel," Annabeth said. "Also, I think our best bet is before the sun rises. We need to get Reyna and everyone else out of the prison before dusk today. What time is it now?"

I saw a digital clock mounted on a wall. "Four-thirty in the morning."

Annabeth exhaled slowly. "The sun will rise soon. That doesn't give us much cover. But, it does give us a lot of time to get everything together and get Reyna out before dusk. Now is our best bet."

Another bus pulled up to the curb, its headlights flashing over the luggage cart, and we all ducked instinctively into the shadows. The doors slid open, and tired passengers stepped out.

"Oh, my gods," Bethany gasped, peeking between two suitcases. She moved over so Annabeth and I could look.

It was him. The kid at the bus station.

"Nate?" Annabeth said, surprised.

"I guess he didn't stay knocked out for very long," I commented.

Annabeth shot me an annoyed look. I forgot she was touchy in the mornings.

Nate glanced around with his hands in his pockets, and then walked over to a bench right next to where we were hiding. We ducked into the shadows even further and stayed silent.

After what felt like an hour, Bethany risked a peek through the luggage. "It's okay," she whispered. "I think he's asleep."

I let out the breath I'd been holding. "Okay. So what we're doing is sneaking out of this bus station, knocking out the guards at the tunnel, making it to the place where Reyna is hidden, bust them out, and kill Octavian. Right?"

Annabeth nodded. "Right." She suddenly paused, thinking. "Wait a second."

"What?" I groaned.

"Bethany, where are we going to get the keys to the prison?" Annabeth asked, frowning.

"You could use me," a male voice said.

I whipped out Riptide and had it pointed at their throat in less than a second. Annabeth pulled out her dagger, and Bethany had two knives in her hands, looking pretty scary.

Nate leaned his head away from Riptide, hands up.

"Nate?" Bethany exclaimed.

"Hi, Beth. Uh, could you tell your friend here to relax?" he said, eyeing my sword warily.

Bethany walked over to him, knives still drawn, and looked at him stonily. "What do you want?"  
I'd seen that look many times. It was the same one Annabeth gave me that made me tell the truth.

"I'm here to help. You won't be able to get the keys without me," he said quickly, hands still raised. "I want to see Octavian go down as much as you do."

She looked at him a bit longer, and then put her knives away. "He's telling the truth."

I lowered my sword and put the cap back on, and Annabeth sheathed her dagger.

Nate let out a huge sigh. "I thought you were going to skewer me."

"I would have," I said.

A smile twitched on his lips. "I know, Percy."

I jumped, but then realized that I was praetor at Camp Jupiter.

Bethany looked slightly uncomfortable and kept shooting glances at Nate, but Annabeth gave her a reassuring nod.

"How can you help us?" Annabeth asked.

"I'm one of the guards of the prison," Nate said. "We're all given a set of keys, and I can get them easily without raising suspicion. I can also get you purple t-shirts so you can blend in."

"One more thing," I said. "How did you know we were here?"

"I heard you say Octavian's name. You guys weren't that quiet."

An awkward silence fell between us, and Nate reached up and scratched at his light brown hair, but his hand jerked away from his head and he winced.

"Sorry about that," Annabeth said. "I'm Annabeth, by the way."

He looked surprised, but then recognition dawned on his face. "_You_ were the one that knocked me out?"

"I didn't realize you were on our side," Annabeth said defensively. "Your head will be fine."

"Okay, enough small talk," I said. "We need to get to Camp Jupiter. Do you know how to get from here, to there?"

"I do," Bethany and Nate said at the same time. Bethany glared at Nate, bright red, and Nate looked slightly sheepish.

I tried hard not to roll my eyes. This was _so _not the time to have drama.

"Awesome," Annabeth said, trying to break the icy silence between the two. "You can both take us there."

Nate nodded and walked off. Bethany this time shot a glare at Annabeth, but Annabeth just shrugged.

"Just try," she said.

I instantly got the feeling that I had missed out on something between Annabeth and Bethany, but I didn't say anything.

"Are you coming?" Nate called.

Bethany heaved a sigh, squared her shoulders, and walked stiffly over to Nate.

I raised an eyebrow at Annabeth.

She rolled her eyes and grabbed my hand, pulling me after Bethany.

"I'll give you the condensed version," she whispered quickly. "Exes are awkward, especially if they both like each other and one won't admit it to herself."

"Girl talk on the bus?" I asked.

"Yeah," Annabeth said shortly. "Now stop being a Seaweed Brain. Don't forget what we're about to do."

She looked annoyed at me, but she squeezed my hand.

"I haven't forgotten," I said.

* * *

We managed to make it away from the bus station, and skirted across empty highways and hid in the bushes from headlights. None of us talked, but Annabeth was twitchy, Bethany kept drumming her fingers on her sword hilt, and Nate kept glancing at her.

I was lost in thought, moving mechanically. Things would be awkward between me and Reyna. I felt like I had abandoned her to Octavian, even though I didn't have much of a choice, considering I couldn't remember a thing.

My head had taken a huge bashing. I kept getting headaches, and sometimes it felt like my brain was desperately trying to mend itself from the gashes of the Lethe and Hera's memory loss.

And what would I do if I faced Octavian? When I fought Luke, it wasn't that hard because I knew that Kronos had taken over. But Octavian? He never acted possessed. He had done this on his own free will, and he was going to pay. But how much would it cost for me? As much as I despised Octavian, would I have enough guts to actually kill him?

I stared into space as we ducked behind some bushes as a car drove by, and suddenly their headlights illuminated an object.

The _pithos_.

I gripped Annabeth's hand hard, and she looked at me worriedly. I pointed just a few feet away from us, but it was gone.

"What?" she asked.

"I saw the _pi_—"

"Let's go," Bethany said. She jumped out from behind the bush and ran across the street, Nate right behind her. Annabeth shot me one last glance, and then pulled me up. We ran across the street, and stopped behind Bethany and Nate.

"Well, we're here," Nate said, standing in front of the tunnel. The entrance to Camp Jupiter. He looked at Annabeth and I holding hands, and then back at Bethany. She didn't notice.

"Are you ready?" Annabeth said. I could tell that she really meant _Are you okay?_

"I am," I said, swallowing down the nervous feeling that had clawed its way into my mouth.

"Then let's go," Bethany said, and ran towards the tunnel.

**Dun dun dun.**

**Nate has now joined the group, and an icy drama has come between him and Bethany! Will they be able to fight past it?**

**Sigh, I knew he would join the group all along.**

**Also, I just realized that I never described him. He's medium height (about 5'11"), and muscular from all the fighting. He is a son of Apollo (Apollo's Roman name is just Apollo.) He has light brown hair, nearly blonde, and green eyes. He prefers a bow and arrow, but can fight well with a sword. He's loyal, kind, and has a similar personality to Percy. That's why Bethany was slightly jealous of Percy and Annabeth on the bus.  
**

**Basically, he's my dream guy in a nutshell.**

**Anywho, I hope you guys like him! **

**I'll see you next week, if not sooner.**

**OKAY BYE.**


	35. Chapter 34: Prison

**Chapter 34! Woo!**

**Also, sorry if it's kind of a sucky chapter. I wrote this over the span of about four days, and I haven't really read over it.**

**The best part, though? It's long! YAY.**

**Sigh, just for funsies I've been reading the Heroes of Olympus again, and I've just started reading Mark of Athena for the second time. I'm dreading the ending, even though I know what happens. Why do I do this to myself?**

**Anywho...**

**Let it commence.**

Annabeth

I reached out and grabbed Bethany's shoulder and pulled her back.

"Let me handle the guards," I said. "I have my invisibility hat."

Nate looked intrigued, but he didn't say anything.

Bethany sighed. "Fine."

I walked back to Percy and put a hand on his shoulder before taking out my Yankees cap and putting it on my head.

I vanished, and I leaned over and gave Percy a peck on the cheek. I pulled out my knife and sprinted off towards the tunnel before I could see his reaction.

Two guards were at the entrance of the camp, and they had hands resting on swords and holding torches. The light from the rising sun was coming, and I needed to move fast. I snuck around behind one of the guards, and hit him across the head with the butt of my knife. He let out a small groan, and then collapsed on the floor, the torch rolling away out of his hands.

"What the—!" the second guard exclaimed. I clapped a hand over her mouth. She struggled, and tried to pull out her sword before I knocked her feet out from underneath her. She fell on her butt, and scrambled around, trying to find me. I danced out of the way as she groped around blindly. I ran behind her and also hit her on the head. Her eyes rolled up, and she fell to the ground like her partner.

Checking to make sure no one was behind me, I picked up one of the fallen torches and waved it around. The others got my signal, and soon they were standing beside me.

"I'm not sure how long they'll stay out," I said, pulling off my hat. "But we need to get to Reyna. The sun is starting to rise."

"Let Bethany and I scout ahead," Nate said. "To them, we're not the enemy." He opened the door in between the two tunnels, and it looked like a maintenance hallway.

Percy nodded grimly. "We'll wait for your signal."

Bethany's mouth was a straight line, but she followed Nate into the darkness of the corridor, pulling out her knife.

I heaved a sigh and leaned against the wall. Percy stepped over one of the guards and stood next to me.

"Everything will be fine," he said, more to himself.

"Percy…" I said slowly. He looked at me, his eyes soft. "What was it that you saw in the bushes?"

Percy hesitated. He looked hard at the opposite wall, as if he was trying to cut the stone with his stare. He was silent for a few minutes before he spoke.

"I saw the _pithos_," he said quietly.

"What?" I gasped. "You did?"

Before he could respond, a shout echoed down the tunnel. "Traitors! Traitors of Ro—!" It was cut off shortly with a yelp.

"Mother of Zeus," Percy groaned. "What happened to the plan of getting in quietly?" He pulled out Riptide, and I hefted my dagger. With one look at each other, we ran down the tunnel and into the camp.

Nate had taken Bethany's sword and was slashing at a flood of guards. Bethany was incredible. She danced in between the guards, cutting at their armor, knocking them to the ground, and landing punches in between. She looked almost exactly like Thalia.

Before Percy and I could even start battling, all the guards were either knocked out, injured, or groaning on the grass.

"Wow," Percy commented. "I guess that was the signal."

One guard staggered back to his feet, but Bethany quickly knocked him down with a roundhouse kick without saying a word. He spun to the grass and landed heavily, his arms splayed out. I had a feeling he wouldn't be getting up soon. We all stared at the guard wordlessly before I realized that the sun was beginning to rise.

"Come on, Seaweed Brain," I shouted, tugging him towards the city. "We need to make a getaway. They know we're here!"

"I remember how to get there!" Percy exclaimed. "It was by our prison."

He sprinted towards the river, jumped inside, and thrust his arms out. The water parted, and Nate, Bethany, and I ran after him on dry ground. Percy ran around the barracks and the mess hall, avoiding the sight of Romans.

We were suddenly halted by the appearance of Terminus at the Pomerian line. "You _again_?!"

Percy smacked his forehead. "Terminus."

"I hope you have your memories back, Perseus Jackson, because I've had enough of all this!"

"They're back, and we're just about to take back the city," I said.

Terminus looked at me, and then at Nate and Bethany behind us. "Two Greeks and two Romans?"

"Yeah," Percy said hurriedly. "So, uh, if you don't mind, we're going to get Reyna now."

We didn't wait for an answer. We ran past him, and he started screaming at us about weapons inside the line. I just ignored him.

We weaved through the streets of New Rome, ducking down alleys and behind statues and fountains whenever a Roman was in sight. I ran breathlessly, trying hard not to make too loud of a noise. Nate ran up next to me, and it looked like he was about to say something when Percy shouted out, "Yes!" and dove into a bush.

We followed behind him and collapsed on the ground.

I fell backwards onto the grass, breathing heavily. Flying on a massive ship with almost no form of running exercise, being in prison, and staying in the Underworld for five days really made you get out of shape.

I sat up, took another deep breath, and gripped my knife tightly.

"You guys stay here," Nate said. "I need to get to the barracks and grab you guys purple t-shirts and get my keys."

"Yeah, by yourself?" Percy said sharply. "Not a chance. Just because you helped us out at the tunnel doesn't me we trust you completely."

Nate looked slightly hurt, but he nodded. "Fair enough. Bethany?"

"Sure," she said. She didn't act so stiff around him anymore, and she actually put a hand on his shoulder before stepping out of the bushes.

"Seems like they're doing everything," Percy grumbled, sitting next to me.

"Yeah, because last time I checked, we're wanted more dead than alive here," I told him.

He rolled his eyes at me, but didn't look convinced.

"Relax," I told him. "They're just trying to help. Especially Nate. I can tell he cares a lot about Bethany."

"I guess." Percy sighed. "But how do we know that they'll just betray us when they get the chance?" He fell backwards on the grass and covered his eyes with his hands, looking extremely torn.

I pulled a hand off his face and rubbed it in between my own. "We've got each other, Percy. Don't think for a second that I'll leave you."

A horribly pained look crossed Percy's face, and I knew what he was thinking about. I brushed hair back from his forehead.

"You had no choice," I whispered. "I will never hold it against you. You're the most perfect person I could ask for." I leaned down and gave him a soft kiss, and he kissed me back.

He put a hand behind my neck and pulled me down next to him, so I was lying down with my head on his chest. His fingers played with my hair as I felt his chest rise and fall with his breathing.

"I never want to be separated from you again," he said. "It was too hard." He paused. "Also, I just realized that I never told you what was always on my mind while I was here."

"What was it?" I asked, looking at the pink sky.

"You," he said simply. "That was the one memory that Hera didn't take away from me. I always had your face in my mind, your name always in my mouth. I knew that once I would get my memories back, I would find you."

I smiled to myself. "Wow, Seaweed Brain. I didn't know you could be so deep."

He picked a handful of grass and dumped it on my face.

I spit some out of my mouth, still grinning. "How are you feeling?"

His mood sobered quickly. "I think that once we get Reyna, I'll feel better."

A tiny flare of jealousy hit me, but I shoved it down. "She's that good?"

Percy nodded. "She's a daughter of Bellona, the Roman war goddess. If we have her one our side, we have a greater chance of winning."

He was quiet a bit longer. Then he sat up, making me fall off him onto the grass. He was grinning crazily at me. "Are you _jealous_, Wise Girl?"

I looked at him like he just announced that he was going to live with Poseidon as a dolphin. "_Me_? Jealous? Are you crazy? Sometimes I wonder why I'm even in a relationship with you!"

"Whatever," he said, still smirking. He looked at me a bit longer, and I pushed him over.

"Shut up, Seaweed Brain," I told him.

"I didn't say anything!" he snickered, falling back onto the grass.

Before I could smack him where it hurts, the bushes started to rustle. I immediately jumped to my feet and pulled out my dagger, pointing it at the bushes.

Bethany fell into the clearing, Nate right behind her. They had changed into clean clothes, and Bethany had also brushed her hair

"Why did you push me?" Bethany said, trying to sound irritated through her smile.

"I didn't," Nate said innocently.

Bethany was about to say something, but she saw us staring at them.

"Oh, here are your shirts," Bethany said causally, tossing them to us.

I shot her a look, and then glanced at Nate, but she just shrugged. _Not now._

I took off my t-shirt I was wearing, thankful I had a tanktop on underneath, and pulled on the purple t-shirt. I immediately felt like I should rip the shirt off.

Percy looked uncomfortable too. Even though he had stayed at Camp Jupiter, and probably wore this type of shirt most of the time, it didn't mean he had to like it.

Nate saw our faces. "What? It's not like we dipped the shirts in acid."

"No, it's not that," I said, tugging at the hem. "It just feels…wrong."

"Do you have the keys?" Percy asked.

Bethany held them up and dangled them.

"Well, Annabeth," Percy said, turning to me. "Lead the way."

I took my knife and walked over to the patch of grass hidden in the back of the clearing. It looked like the right place. I plunged the knife into the grass, and I heard the deep _click_. Prying the knife up, a disguised manhole popped out of the grass. Percy's eyes widened as I lifted the manhole out of its place and pushed it to the side.

"They're down there?" Percy asked.

"Everyone," I confirmed. "I saw them all."

Without giving them another glance, I swung my legs over the hole and dropped down. I somersaulted and landed smoothly on my feet, only to get knocked down by Percy falling on top of me.

"Holy Olympus!" I gasped, shoving him off me. "You could have waited until I'd moved!"

He had the decency to look sheepish.

"Is everything okay down there?" Bethany's voice called.

"Just peachy," I grumbled.

I heard the whistling of air and Bethany sprung to her feet next to me. Nate lowered himself into the tunnel and dropped down as well. I climbed up the ladder and pushed the manhole into its place, plunging the tunnel into darkness.

Percy uncapped his sword and the tunnel was lit faintly by the glow of Riptide. I climbed down the ladder and stood next to him. "We walk down the tunnel until we hit an intersection. We turn left, and there's a door at the end."

I started walking and everyone else followed. Percy held his sword in front of him while we walked so I could see where I was going.

Suddenly we heard voices echoing in the tunnel in front of us. I froze, and Percy nearly cut me with his sword.

"Here!" Nate whispered. He grabbed my wrists and pulled them behind my back. I instantly understood what he was doing. Bethany caught on too, and she grabbed Percy's sword, capped it and shoved it in her pocket.

"Hey!" he yelped, but she clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Shut up and keep your head down. Don't say anything," she hissed.

She took his wrists and started leading him down the tunnel. Nate followed her, and I hung my head so my hair would fall in my face.

Soon we passed the guards walking down the tunnel towards us.

"More traitors of New Rome," Nate said shortly. They nodded and didn't give us a second glance.

Once we were sure they were out of sight, Nate let go of my hands. Bethany let Percy go and handed over his sword.

"Sorry," she said.

"No problem," Percy replied.

We walked the rest of the way in silence. We never passed any more guards, and soon we made it to the intersection. I turned left and we ran down the rest of the tunnel.

I stopped in front of the door and Bethany handed over the keys. Percy peered through the small window and saw Reyna shackled to the wall.

"When I get my hands on him—" Percy growled.

"Move, Percy. I can't open the door if you're in my way," I ordered.

I stuffed the key into the lock and turned it. The door gave a heavy _click_ and swung open.

We ran into the room, and Leo looked up.

"Holy Hephaestus!" he cried. "You're here!"

Reyna lifted her head and her mouth dropped open. "Percy? Nate? Bethany!"

"We're here to bust you out," Percy said. "And take New Rome back."

**Boom. We've made it to the prison. Aw yeah.**

**Can't wait to see you guys next week with a new chapter! And, if you live in the US, have a fabulous Thanksgiving! (It's my favorite holiday, because I love food)**

**OKAY BYE.**


	36. Chapter 35: Released

**I'm back.**

**I'm sorry I was gone for a month. I had to take a small break from writing because of college preparation and just being stressed with trying to get good grades and blah blah blah etc. etc. etc.**

**And then I just took a rest and watched Sherlock—the amazing BBC TV show that left me with a gaping black hole in the middle of my chest because the third season can't come out soon enough all because Sherlock and John Watson are in the Hobbit as the main characters so they have extremely busy schedules being Smaug the Dragon and Bilbo Baggins and I cried at the end of the last episode of the second season because it was just incredibly awful and sad and amazing all at the same time, and then it ended on the cliffhanger of the century and I swear I died a little inside. It was bigger than Rick Riordan's. I didn't even think it was possible.**

**So if any of you have seen all the episodes of Sherlock, let me know so I can actually talk to someone about it because none of my friends watch it and it kills me that they don't understand the sheer FABULOUSNESS of the TV show.**

**And if any of you haven't seen it, YOU NEED TO WATCH IT. I'm serious. It will change your life. (Although, some parts are a little scary and intense, so you might want to watch those parts through your fingers.)**

**Gods, I think that's enough Author's Note for one chapter.**

**Let it commence.**

Percy

"Nate, hand me the keys," I said, holding my hand out.

He dropped them on my palm and I started working on unlocking the shackles around Reyna's wrists and ankles. The shackles opened on her wrists and she fell weakly forward. I steadied her.

"Sorry," she said, leaning against the wall. "I haven't stood on my own in a while."

"It's fine," I assured her, trying to ignore the heat on my cheeks. Annabeth shifted slightly behind me. I released the shackles on her ankles, and Reyna slowly slid down onto the floor.

I moved to the person next to her—a boy with curly dark hair and an elfish face.

"You're Percy?" he asked as I unlocked him from the wall.

"Yeah," I said, frowning. "How did you know?"

He rubbed his raw wrist with his hand. "Annabeth found me when she was looking for you. I'm Leo, son of Hephaestus extraordinaire."

"I recognize you," I said, pointing the keys at him. "You sent us a message on that piece of paper."

"Made it myself." He grinned, a bit of pride entering his voice. "I—"

"Boys, less flirting, more unlocking," Annabeth said irritably, catching a girl with choppy brown hair and tan skin and helping her stand up.

"Can't say I've missed Annabeth's bossiness," Leo muttered to himself.

I tried to hide a smirk.

It quickly slid off when I saw Hazel still chained to the wall, and I quickly moved to her.

"Percy," she said gratefully. "I knew you'd come."

I felt a little pain in my chest. Hazel was like a little sister to me, and I hated seeing her like this.

"Of course I came," I told her. The chains on her wrists released and she fell against me. I caught her and settled her on the ground. "I'm going to fix this. Fix all of this."

She gave me a weak hug. "Find Frank," she whispered. I nodded, and she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. I stood up and moved to a boy with blond hair.

"Jason," he said hoarsely.

"Percy," I replied. "You're the kid missing from Camp Jupiter. You're the praetor."

He looked surprised. "And you're the kid missing from Camp Half-Blood. You're Annabeth's boyfriend." His hands dropped to his sides, and he kicked away the shackles binding his feet.

I nodded. "You're a son of Zeus?"

"Jupiter," he corrected automatically.

"I know a daughter of Zeus. She's one of my best friends."

"Thalia?" Jason asked, giving a small smile. "She's my sister."

I stared at him.

"Yeah," he said. He took some keys from me and started to unlock another grateful Roman from the wall. "She was one of the only things I remembered. She left some pictures in the Zeus cabin, and Annabeth told me her name." He steadied the boy he'd unlocked and moved on to the next person.

"Who're they?" I asked, gesturing to the girl with choppy hair and Leo.

"Leo's my best friend," Jason said, nodding towards him. "And Piper's my girlfriend."

I was about to reply, when I realized that the entire room was silent. I looked around and saw people staring at me and Jason, as if expecting a nuclear explosion to happen any minute.

"Hey, man," I said, catching him on the shoulder. I swear, everyone sucked in a breath. I ignored this. "I can easily give up the praetor's spot. I know that you were praetor first, and I don't want to get in your way. You can have it."

It was his turn to stare at me. "You're serious?"

"Would you give up the position so easily?" a voice said. Reyna stood up and gave me a calculating stare I was all too familiar with.

"Yes," I said firmly. "He was the praetor first. He deserves it more than I do. I'd rather be leader of one camp, thanks."

I saw Annabeth in the corner of my eye start to smile.

"I accept," Jason said.

"Great," I replied. "Now hand me the keys."

* * *

Soon, everyone was free from their bonds. Everyone looked pale and tired, with sunken cheeks and baggy eyes. They probably hadn't seen daylight in weeks. They were all lying down on the ground, rubbing their raw ankles and wrists, and massaging sore muscles.

I stood up. All eyes swiveled towards me.

"This is what's going to happen," I said loudly. "We need to get rid of Octavian once and for all."

I expected some loud cheer, but all I got was Leo weakly yelling, "Woo!"

"The only way we can do this is if we have weapons. We also need to set sentries at the doors of this room to knock out any guards that come down here and protect the weaker ones. How many of you are newer prisoners?"

About thirty or forty people raised their hands. I bit my lip. It wasn't even close to half of the people in the room.

"Are any of you sons or daughters of Mars?"

Five people kept their hands raised.

"You need to find where Frank is being held captive. We need him."

They stood and moved to a different place in the room. "Don't go looking for him until we can get some weapons for all of us," I told them. "I don't want any of you captured again.

"Right," I said. "Now I need about ten of the newer prisoners, along with those who were with me earlier, to come with me to the armory."

Annabeth, Nate, and Bethany came to stand by me, but no one else moved.

Until Jason stood up. Leo and Piper trailed behind him and took their places by my side.

Reyna stood up, too, but I shook my head. "I need you to stay here with the rest of us. You're a good leader, and I know you can protect them." She didn't look that happy to be ordered around, but she sat back down.

Seven other people got to their feet and stood beside me.

"The rest of you stay here. We'll try to bring back enough weapons for most of you, as well as some food."

I turned away from them to face the thirteen standing by me.

"Do you think this will work?" Annabeth said, placing a hand on my arm.

"You tell me," I said, rubbing my forehead. "You're normally the one with a plan, not me."

"This has to work," Bethany assured me. "I have a feeling it will."

"Great," Annabeth said. "Okay, four of us already have weapons, so there should be two of us in the front of the group, and two of us in the back to keep us protected. We also have Piper to charmspeak for us, and Percy and Jason with their…uh, powers. They are our first priority to protect."

The group nodded.

"Percy and Bethany should be in the front, since they are the best fighters, with Jason behind them. Nate and I will hold up the back. Piper, stay near the middle with Leo," Annabeth instructed. "If any of you have any…abilities, I guess, use them. Don't use any force unless absolutely necessary. We don't want any attention drawn to ourselves. Our priority is to get in and out of the armory as quickly and quietly as possible. The reason why there are so many of us are because we need people carrying weapons. Anything else, Percy?"

"Uh, what?" I said. Annabeth rolled her eyes and whispered something to Piper, who grinned. I glared at them, but they didn't stop smiling.

"I think that's about it," I said. I could feel everyone's eyes on my back as we got into formation.

"Keep everyone protected," I said to Reyna. She nodded curtly.

I pulled out Riptide and uncapped it. Bethany unsheathed two daggers and twirled them in her hands.

"We'll be back," I said. "If not…let's just hope that doesn't happen."

* * *

"You and Jason will have to tell me where to go," I said to Bethany as we hid in the clearing. "I've really only been here about three or four days."

"Sure," she replied. She picked at some grass as we waited for Nate and Annabeth to get back from scouting ahead.

Jason was sitting next to Piper, who had her head on his shoulder. Leo was fidgeting nervously, and was starting to build a miniature grass snowman. Even though he was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, I could see the raw skin ringing his wrists. A surge of anger flared inside me towards Octavian. He had hurt so many people—especially the people from Camp Half-Blood.

I looked at the rest of the people that came with us. Some I recognized from the war game, but the rest I'd never seen before. They all had the same exhausted look. They were probably malnourished, dehydrated, and practically dead on their feet. The only people that seemed to be in any shape to fight were me, Annabeth, Nate, Bethany, and Jason. Being released from prison seemed to give him a surge of energy. Or maybe it was his lightning powers or whatever.

The bushes rustled and Nate and Annabeth burst into the clearing.

"They've found the bodies of the guards at the entrances of the tunnel. They know we're here," Nate said.

"Perfect," I groaned. "Could we just have some small bit of luck?"

"The good news is that the armory is almost completely abandoned," Annabeth said. "Octavian seems to have called most of the guards on a hunt for us—which is the tricky part. Getting to the armory is the problem, not the weapons."

I blew out air sharply. "We've still got to go. We won't be able to do anything if they're armed and we're not."

"Just what I was thinking," Jason said. "Once we get swords, things will be more evenly matched."

"What are we waiting for, then?" Piper asked.

"The distraction," Annabeth said.

"What distract—?" I started to ask, before I heard a small explosion and shouts.

"What was that?" Bethany cried, jumping to her feet.

"I planted a grenade arrow in one of the shops," Nate said. "It should give us enough time."

"Then let's go!" Leo said.

I uncapped Riptide and everyone gave a cheer. Bethany twirled her knives again and we exploded out of the bushes.

"Follow me!" Bethany yelled. There was panic everywhere. People were running around with buckets of water, yelling, and sprinting towards the flaming shop. I could hear Octavian screaming shrilly somewhere, but I kept running.

Bethany weaved through buildings like a panther. She streaked down alleyways and sprinted towards the barracks.

We ran past a shrieking Terminus and up a dirt road towards an open gate. There was no one in sight. They were all taking care of the building in New Rome.

Bethany ushered us inside a small building by one of the barracks, and then shut the door. Automatic lights flickered on, and the armory lit up before us.

"Oh," Nate moaned. He dropped Bethany's sword and grabbed a bow and large quiver of arrows mounted on the wall. "I've missed you." He rubbed the bow shaft as he shouldered the quiver.

"Kids of Apollo," Bethany said, shrugging.

"Get what you need, and more," I said.

"My tool belt!" Leo cried. He picked it up and buckled it around his waist.

People surged forward to get their weapons, shields, and armor, and soon I had people who looked like warriors, not prisoners.

"How are we going to carry the rest?" Annabeth asked. She had on a breastplate and a shield on her arm.

"I wonder…" Leo mused. "Pipes, hand me your knife."

"What?" she said.

Leo held out his hand expectantly, and Piper reluctantly dropped the knife into his hand.

He shoved it in his tool belt in what looked like a too-small pocket.

"Hey!" Piper yelped.

"Wait," Leo said. He reached his hand back in the pocket, and Piper's knife appeared in his hand. "Aw, yeah. Tool belt converts into storage unit. I like."

"But, that's impossible," Nate said, frowning.

"Man, until a few months ago, I thought the gods were impossible," Leo said. "Put your stuff in here."

We started to put things in his tool belt, and they just seemed to shrink as they fit into the pockets.

Soon, we basically cleaned out the armory. We were about to leave when I saw a shield sitting in the back corner.

"Wait," I said. I reached down and was about to buckle it onto my arm when my fingers lost feeling. The shield slid out of my hand and clattered to the ground.

"Percy?" I heard Annabeth say. It sounded like her voice was underwater.

I felt her hand on my shoulder, and then it clenched. Annabeth was staring at the exact thing I was.

The _pithos_.

"Why?" I asked numbly. "Why is it here?"

"It doesn't matter, Percy," Annabeth said. "We need to get out of here. Right now."

She tugged at my shoulder, and I forced myself to look away from the looming jar. The group was staring at me, but I just pushed through them and opened the door.

"Let's go," I said.

People ran out and followed Bethany back to the clearing, but Annabeth made me stay behind.

"Percy, don't let it get to your head," she said. "It's here to freak you out. You've got to keep going. Stopping is what it wants you to do."

I forced myself not to start getting tunnel vision"Sorry. It's just—"

"Percy, I understand," Annabeth said, taking my face in her hands. "I can't even think of when we actually slept, let alone in a bed. We've kept moving and moving, and I just want to stop. But we can't. We've got to keep going. We're almost done. Do you hear me?"

"Yeah," I said. "I do."

"When we get back, I want you to sleep. Even though we've got to keep going, you're not a machine. We've been running on adrenaline, and it's about gone," Annabeth said. "I'll handle things when we get back. I've slept more than you."

"I swear I've heard you say that before," I said, smiling slightly.

"Yeah, the Titan War. But we've got to go. Just a few more minutes. Can you do that for me?"

I sighed. "Yeah."

She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. "We can do this."

And she took my hand, and we ran to the clearing.

**Sorry if the chapter is a little off. I've kinda lost my funk since I haven't written in three weeks, but I hope to update more in the future because it's CHRISTMAS BREAK. Glory Hallelujah. Praise to the Man. I need to just catch up on SLEEP.**

**I hope you guys like this chapter, and I'm also sorry I was AWOL. Trust me, I didn't want to, but you know.**

**If any of you guys go AWOL for a while, may I recommend Sherlock? It's a good show to watch while you're gone doing whatever.**

**Hope to see you guys soon!**

**OKAY BYE.**

**~littlebitclever**


	37. Chapter 36: Answers

**Hey guys! Hope you are having the happiest of holidays :) Mine have been awesome, but I'm depressed that school starts on Thursday. **

**Ugh**

**Anyway, I hope you like the new chapter! A question is answered in this chapter, so hold onto your seats, because it's a big one.**

**Let it commence.**

Percy

How we managed to get in and out of the armory without being seen was beyond me, but a miracle I was extremely grateful for.

If I didn't have Annabeth pulling me along, I think I probably would have passed out on the ground in a second.

We stumbled into the clearing when Annabeth suddenly stopped.

"Oh, gods no," she whispered, a hand over her mouth.

The clearing was a mess. People were lying on the ground, groaning. Some were bloody, and some looked completely knocked out. Jason was standing over a girl on the ground, who was kneeling. He was rubbing her shoulders as she sobbed into her hands. Piper was sitting next to her, trying to calm her down.

It was Bethany.

I never thought I would see her break down. She seemed too much like Thalia. Too strong and definitely not the one to show tears.

Annabeth dropped my hand and hurried over to her side. "Tell me what happened."

Before she could answer, I said, "Wait."

All eyes swiveled towards me. "Jason, Piper, you stay here. Everyone else who's conscious get everyone unconscious back to the prison. Leo, please tell me you got some ambrosia and nectar in your belt. You can heal people there, and it'll be a safe place for them. Tell Reyna what's happened. Now."

People shuffled to their feet and carried out what I'd told them. Once the clearing was empty except for the five of us, I turned to Bethany.

She wiped at her eyes and sucked in a shaky breath. "We were ambushed and they took him. They took him when I could have stopped them. And I didn't." Tears started to fall down her cheeks again.

"Who did they take?" Piper asked gently.

"Nate," Annabeth said. "I don't see him. They took Nate captive."

Bethany nodded.

"He had his arrows, and I thought he'd be fine," she said thickly. "But they slashed him from behind. They stabbed him through his armor. I tried to get him. I tried. But they took him away. Why did they take him?"

"Bethany, you are not to blame," Jason said. "I was supposed to be covering him, but I let my guard down. It's my fault."

"Let's not play the blame game," Annabeth said. "It won't get us anywhere. What we need to do is get him back. Who knows what Octavian could be doing to him—especially since Nate betrayed him."

Piper squeezed Bethany's hand. "Everything will be fine."

"What you need to do is rest," I said. "We've been working hard. You're not a machine."

Annabeth looked at me and gave what was almost a smile. "Neither are you."

I barely shrugged my shoulders. "I want to talk to Jason about what we should do next. Assemble a search party to find Frank and all that."

She nodded. "After that, Percy, you need to rest. If you don't, I will personally knock you out long enough that you will."

I tried to smile, but it felt like the muscles in my face were paralyzed. I probably gave her a grimace. "It won't take long."

She turned back to Bethany, and I faced Jason.

"So, what are you thinking?"

* * *

Annabeth

"Do you want to go somewhere a bit more private?" I asked Bethany.

She nodded, and I helped her stand up. Jason and Percy were muttering to each other, and Piper was still sitting on the ground below them, picking at grass and occasionally giving input.

We moved over to a secluded bit of the clearing and I waited for her to say something. I didn't want to push her.

She sighed. "Why do I feel this way?" She wiped at her eyes and looked at me.

"Because you like him," I replied. Bethany opened her mouth to say something, but I cut her off. "I know, it's hard. Sometimes, liking—even loving—someone can be considered a weakness. You don't know what you'll do without them, and you feel full around them, but empty when they're gone. And believe me, I know firsthand how it feels to lose someone."

Bethany glanced over at Percy, who was still talking to Jason. "He went missing for six months, didn't he?"

"The hardest six months of my life," I said. "But I never gave up. I kept searching. And you should too. Stop pushing him away, because you won't know what you've missed until he's _really_ gone. If you get past your fear, I promise your life will be so much easier. Don't view it as a weakness, Bethany, because seeing love as a weakness, is a weakness."

"You're amazing," Bethany breathed. "How can you make me feel so much better? I would think a child of Venus would be the one to give love advice."

"Sometimes they are," I replied, looking at Piper. "But sometimes, they can be extremely shallow. It's better to get advice from someone who's actually experienced a tough love life."

She smiled, and I grinned back.

"You're sure everything's okay?" I asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. She tensed slightly, but slowly relaxed.

"Yeah, everything's great," Bethany said. "Well, besides an impending war, the guy I like is kidnapped, and I might not live to see the next day. Other than that, I'm fine."

"There's the optimism I'm looking for." I laughed.

"Yeah," she said. "What's for breakfast? I'm starving."

I rolled my eyes, and she walked over to the manhole and slid down.

I sighed. Bethany was so…complicated. She always seemed so tightly wound, and had built so many walls around her, and when they would crumble, she would feel like she's nothing.

I rubbed my temples, thinking. If only she could just tear down every wall and just start over. And unfortunately, even though she's a daughter of the goddess of Victory, she hadn't had much victory in a love life.

It seriously amazed me how demigods want and hate relationships. I guess it's part of the job.

Shaking my head and sighing again, I walked over to Percy and Jason and sat next to Piper.

Percy stopped the conversation with Jason and turned to me. "Is everything okay with Bethany?" he asked.

"She'll be fine," I said. "I think she just needs to get her thoughts together."

"I know the feeling," Jason muttered.

"Are you guys done talking?" I asked. "Because I wasn't kidding about knocking Percy out."

"Yeah, I think we're done," Percy yawned. "Do you think it's possible to sneak some pillows from the barracks?"

"I highly doubt it, Seaweed Brain," I said. I stood up and took his hand. "Let's go lie down."

The four of us jumped down the manhole and closed it behind us. We walked down the tunnels, Percy and me in the front, and Jason and Piper behind us. I could hear Jason and Piper talking quietly together, but their voices echoed off the walls, and I couldn't understand what they were saying.

I probably didn't want to know anyway.

We soon reached the door to the prison, and Percy practically collapsed on the ground in exhaustion when we stepped inside.

Reyna saw us walk in, and stormed over to us, probably to interrogate our ears off, but Percy and Jason shot her down.

"Not now, Reyna," Percy mumbled. "I need…I need to sleep."

"I want to know what's been happening!" she yelled. "Your group get's back with most injured and unconscious, and we're missing a soldier. I need to know!"

"I'll tell you what's happened," Piper said.

Reyna recoiled. "You?"

I saw her eyes dart to Piper's hand in Jason's, and I knew Piper saw it too.

"Yeah," Piper said, trying to make peace. "Jason has enough on his mind, and Percy's about to fall over." She bit her lip. "I'm your girl."

She tugged her hand out of Jason's grip and started to walk over to a corner of the room. Reyna was still standing there, looking at Piper.

"Do you want to know?" Piper asked.

"Yes," Reyna said. She hesitated a bit longer, and then strode to where Piper had sat down.

"Now that that's settled, can I sleep now?" Percy whined.

"I thought you didn't need to," I said, guiding him over to what looked like the softest spot that stone could have.

"You were right," Percy said. "You happy?"

"Yes," I said.

He shot me a tired glare, and then lay down.

"G'night, Wise Girl," he murmured.

"Same to you, Seaweed Brain," I replied, taking my spot next to him. He rolled onto his side and then pulled me closer to him so I was against his chest.

I tried to hide my smile as I closed my eyes.

* * *

Octavian

Octavian pulled off his helmet and threw it into the corner of the room.

He sat down in a chair and was about to relax when a knock sounded at the door.

"What do you want?" he yelled.

The door swung open, and a guard walked in with a prisoner with a bag over its head. Its side was bloody, and they stumbled forward.

"Well, well, who's this?" Octavian asked, leaning forward.

The guard forced the prisoner to its knees and whipped off the bag.

The prisoner blinked. They had a bruise on their eye, and small cuts lined their cheeks. Its hair was disheveled, and their hands twitched.

"Nate, son of Apollo," Octavian mused. Nate stared defiantly at Octavian without saying a word. "What are you doing here?"

Nate just glared.

"What do you have to report on the Greeks?" Octavian asked.

"I'm not your spy anymore," Nate spat.

"Oh, really?" Octavian said. "If I remember correctly, you were the one who volunteered for the job. You were one of the closest people on my side."

Nate refused to answer.

"I see." Octavian smirked. "I think I understand perfectly. It's that girl, isn't it?"

Nate stared at him straight in the eye.

"I'm right, aren't I?" Octavian crowed. "Bethany. That's her name, correct? You volunteered because you knew she would be there. You had no intention of changing sides. You were going to bring Percy and Annabeth straight to me. You had no idea that Bethany would be on their side. You expected her to help you, _and_ you had hidden affections for her."

Octavian clapped his hands, smiling wickedly. "And then you saw how _good_ the Greeks were, and how _loyal_ and _kind_."

Octavian stood up and circled Nate until he was behind him. He placed his hands on Nate's shoulders, and Nate tensed sharply. "It's amazing how love can twist you; change your feelings, your emotions, even your standards. I never saw you as a weak person, Nate." Octavian leaned down until his mouth was right by Nate's ear. "And now I know I was mistaken," he whispered. "Love is a weakness. It tears you down. It makes you delirious, mad. You'll do anything to get back to her, am I correct?"

Nate bit his lip, staring straight ahead.

"You know, you remind me of a certain someone by the name of Percy Jackson. You're loyal, and you've let love consume you. I'm sure you don't want to meet the same fate as him, am I correct?"

Fear took over Nate. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Nate had one thing still on his side, but he didn't know if he could say it. If anything happened to Bethany…it would be his entire fault. His entire stupid fault that he was the one who was captured.

Octavian squeezed Nate's shoulders and then straightened.

"I'm giving you one last chance, Nate," Octavian said. "You can either return to my side and continue spying, or Lethe might find its way into your next meal."

That sent Nate over the edge. He stood defiantly, knocking Octavian into his desk. "There's a weakness you have, too, Octavian, and don't think I don't know it!" Nate yelled. "You recently received a letter, with a black seal?"

Fear flickered on Octavian's face. "How did you—?"

"And it burned when you touched it. You thought it was an advantage. But you were so wrong," Nate said. His voice shook with anger. "It was a message from my father, Apollo, god of music, poetry, and Oracles. Your patron. He knows what you've done! He knows where your allegiances really lie. You think you can hide from the god of prophecy? You're a fool! That was a message of your doom, not Percy's. And you've been too blind to see it."

Nate gained courage with every word until he was screaming. "I may have been on your side, Octavian. I may have been your spy, but that's over. You're almost over, too! You'll regret everything you've done! Your fate is sealed! When my father unleashes his wrath—"

"ENOUGH!" Octavian screamed. "TAKE HIM AWAY!"

The guard grabbed Nate and dragged him out of the room, who was still yelling. "Destroying me will just destroy you! Don't think Apollo will take it kindly when he finds you have ruined his son!"

The door slammed shut, cutting off Nate's cursing.

And Octavian was alone.

**Have a fabulous week! I'll see you in the next update.**

**OKAY BYE.**


	38. Chapter 37: Liberated

**Hi everyone.**

**Some of you probably expected that I dropped the story. I would never do that! I'm sorry that my updating has been getting steadily farther and farther apart. I've been writing for this story a lot, but I just haven't had time to upload it. Me not having a personal computer is also a contributing factor.**

**But you don't want to hear my pathetic reasons. Let's just get to the extremely long awaited chapter, shall we?**

**Let it commence.**

Percy

I should've expected getting bombarded by a dream when I fell asleep. I was perfectly happy with Annabeth in my arms—which was the first time in a long time—but the stupid dream snuck up on me.

* * *

"Percy!" Annabeth gasped.

We were sitting on the grass in Central Park, having a picnic. I was squirting some ketchup on some fries that I'd picked up from a street vendor, and some of it had splattered onto Annabeth's shirt.

"Crap, Annabeth, I'm sorry," I said, quickly picking up some napkins and trying to dab it off her. She glared at me, a bit of ketchup in her hair. I tried hard not to smile.

She saw me smirk and grabbed the packets of ketchup, an evil glint in her eye. I dropped the napkins, realizing what she was about to do.

"Annabeth, don't," I said quickly, trying to get away from her. "It was an accident, I promise!"

"Too late, Percy!" she said, and pounced, ripping open the packets and dumping them in my hair.

I fell onto my back and she scrambled for more packets. Before she could pour more ketchup on me, I grabbed her wrists and flipped her over me onto her back. She landed on the grass, laughing so hard she couldn't breathe.

"It's so on." I grinned evilly, picking up more.

I pulled apart the ketchup packets and squirted them on her shirt. She squealed, but it was suddenly choked off into a gasp of pain.

"A-Annabeth?" I dropped the ketchup, staring at her shirt.

The ketchup was becoming thinner, turning a deep red and dripping off her shirt into pools on the grass.

It looked like blood.

"No, no…" I gasped. I lifted her shirt, and an open wound was deep in her stomach.

"How—?"

The scene was changing. The grass was turning to dirt, the trees shrinking away. Annabeth clutched my shirt with bloody hands and kissed me with bloody lips.

I pulled back. "Don't—Annabeth, you're not leaving me. You're staying here!"

She looked at me sadly, pain in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Percy."

And she vanished, my hands still in front of me where I was holding her, the pools of blood still seeping into the ground.

* * *

I was running for my life.

I was wearing a praetor's toga, and I was sprinting away from the senate house, tripping over the sheet and gasping for breath. I could hear people behind me screaming for my blood.

New Rome was deserted, and even though stars were shining in the sky, the streets were dark.

I ran past the statue of Terminus and into the Field of Mars. As soon as my feet stepped onto the dirt, the screaming sounded like it was underwater. Time seemed to slow down as I saw a figure standing in the middle of the Field.

Slowing to a trot, I could finally see who it was.

It was Bethany.

And she was staring at the _pithos_.

"Bethany!" I yelled. "What are you doing?"

She looked away from the _pithos_ to stare at me. She looked confused.

"Get away Percy," Bethany said.

She faced the _pithos_ again, her hand reaching for the lid.

"No!" I screamed. I tried to run at her, but time felt like it was slowing me down. I couldn't get there fast enough

She jerked her hand away, and it looked like she had an epitome. Her hand rested on the lid again.

"Bethany, stop!" I pumped my legs, but it felt like I was running on a treadmill, and the stupid toga kept getting in the way, pushing me further and further back.

"It has to be this way, Percy," Bethany said firmly. "You don't understand." Her hand closed on the handle, and she lifted the lid into the air.

Light burst from the _pithos_, so bright it burned my eyes. I fell to the ground, screaming.

* * *

"_Agh!_"

I sat up so fast Annabeth fell off my lap and hit her head on the stone ground.  
"Ouch!" she yelped. "Percy, what the Hades?"

She tried to sit up, but I pushed her back on the ground, yanking her shirt up.

"Percy!" she hissed, trying to pull the shirt down. "What is _wrong_ with you?!"

Triple checking there wasn't a gaping hole in the middle of her stomach, I let go of the shirt and put my face in my hands. They were shaking.

Annabeth went silent. I heard her sit next to me, and she put an arm around my shoulders.

"What happened?" she asked softly. "Was it a dream?"

I sucked in a deep breath and looked at her. "Yeah."

She took one of my hands in hers and rubbed it with the other. "Do you want to tell me? Like, why you attacked my shirt when you woke up?"

She smirked, and I tried to smile back. It probably looked like a grimace.

"There was ketchup," I said stupidly.

"Sorry?" she asked. "You had a bad dream about ketchup?"

"No," I said, "the ketchup's not important."

She just looked at me.

"The dream…" I hesitated. "The dream was about Bethany and the _pithos_."

Annabeth's hands tightened around mine. "What?"

"She was standing in the middle of a field with the _pithos_. I tried to stop her, but I kept tripping on my toga. When she opened the jar, I was blinded. Then I woke up."

Annabeth huffed. "I'm sorry Percy, but could you be any more vague? Ketchup, and then a toga? Is there anything else?"

I nodded. "Bethany didn't seem like herself. But then she did. She didn't quite look possessed. She just seemed confused, but then it was like she understood what she was doing. And then she opened the _pithos_."

Annabeth glanced around to see if anyone was listening. "Did you recognize where you were?" she whispered.

"The Field of Mars," I said. "It's just outside New Rome."

"Then we can't let her get there. We have to do whatever we can to make her stay here."

"But I thought you said we shouldn't try to avoid prophecies," I said.

"I think this one is bad enough to try and avoid," Annabeth said. "Elpis, or hope, is trapped inside. If she releases it, then we're releasing hope. _Our_ hope to stop Gaea. And besides, this isn't a prophecy. It's just a dream, right?"

"I hope so," I muttered, thinking about Annabeth bleeding in my dream. I shuddered. I was just psyching myself out.

Annabeth let go of my hand and put her hands on my shoulders. "We'll fight through this. We're together again. When have we not stopped the bad guys?"

"I'm sorry," I said, not quite sure why I was apologizing. I just felt guilty. My emotions felt like they were mixed up in a blender and shoved back inside me.

"I love you, Perce," Annabeth said.

"I love you too, Beth," I replied, pulling her toward me and just hugging her.

"Don't call me that," she huffed, hugging me back.

I felt awful. Annabeth had been holding me up for such a long time, and I could tell it was exhausting her. She was always being my cheerleader, trying to make me feel better, and reassuring me for every decision I made and comforting me with every worry. I was afraid that I was going to break her soon. She had her own worries, and I was adding to them by a million. I guess that was why I said I was sorry. Because I was always her biggest worry. She never knew if I was going to make it through the day, and it was slowly eating away at her. Even though I was hurting her, I knew I couldn't let her go. I desperately needed her and she needed me.

She was the only one who could even slightly understand how I was feeling, and me to her. We were always so alone.

And so I held her tightly against me. We didn't kiss, and we didn't look longingly into each other's eyes. We just held each other, trying to fill the gaping holes that had steadily gotten bigger and bigger since I vanished from Camp Half-Blood all those months ago.

It always amazed me how a hug could make you feel better.

**I know Percy gets a little philosophical at the end, but I felt like it was necessary. I've actually always felt this about Percy and Annabeth's relationship. While Annabeth has her own problems, Percy always seems to be the biggest:**

**Annabeth Chase and Oh Crap He's a Son of Poseidon**

**Annabeth Chase and Sneaking Away From Camp With Percy**

**Annabeth Chase and Percy Better Find Me or I'm Gonna Die**

**Annabeth Chase and I Think Percy Blew Up**

**Annabeth Chase and The Stupid Prophecy I've Been Worrying About Since Day One About Percy**

**THE LOST HERO-LITERALLY. I CAN'T FREAKING FIND MY BOYFRIEND**

**THE SON OF NEPTUNE-I STILL CAN'T FIND MY BOYFRIEND**

**THE MARK OF ATHENA-I FALL INTO TARTARUS WITH MY BOYFRIEND I FOUND A WEEK AGO**

**Let's get real.**

**So I felt like Percy needed to actually feel remorse about how he KNOWS that he's been causing all of this trouble for Annabeth.**

**Anyway, I hope you guys liked the chapter!**

**AND, I want to ask a favor from you guys.**

**I don't have anything to read.**

**please _please_ PLEASE give me suggestions! Your favorite books, least favorite, whatever! I'm so tired of just staring at a screen before I go to bed because I don't have actual pages to turn. Drop suggestions in the reviews or send me a PM.**

**Thank you!**

**OKAY BYE.**


	39. Chapter 38: Rescued

**I'm alive!**

**Sorry that this story has been put on hiatus. I should've given you some warning, but now that I've been accepted to the college I want to go to, scholarship applications and housing contracts followed suit. And _LOST_ might have gotten in the way too. (I love _LOST_) Can I just say-to whoever has seen the TV show-that Charlie is my absolute favorite? Same with Sawyer and Jack. And Claire, Kate, Sayid, Jin, Sun, Boone...I just love them all! But mostly Charlie. Because it's Dominic Monaghan. And who doesn't love Merry?**

**Anyway.**

**I'm not sure when I'll be able to update again, but I really have missed writing this. When I started writing this chapter, it made me feel so happy. Gah.**

**Let it commence.**

Annabeth

Percy clutched at my shirt, and I gently loosened his grip.

"Percy, you still need to rest. Especially now," I told him gently.

"No," he said, trying to stand up again. "I'm fine. They need me." I pulled him back down, and he didn't fight back.

"What did you get?" I asked. "About two hours, at the most? I'm not letting you go until you've had at least five. Maybe six."

He opened his mouth to protest, but I shot him down.

"Don't you dare argue with me right now," I ordered. "My head still hurts, and I'm tired too."

"Sorry," Percy muttered. "Fine. But you're staying with me."

"Of course," I said, lying back down. Percy hesitated before lying next to me. I took his hand in mine and rubbed it with my thumb.

"We're in this together, okay?" I said.

His eyes were already fluttering shut, and he groaned in response. I smiled as his breathing became slower.

I closed my own eyes and waited.

Ten minutes later, Percy was breathing deeply and his hand was slack in mine. I gingerly pulled it away and he didn't even move. Keeping my eyes fixed on him, I unbuckled his belt and slid the keys off where he had kept them. I knew he would have given them to me if I had just asked, but I didn't want to wake him up.

I slowly sat up and scooted away from him. My foot accidently nudged his head, and I froze. He muttered to himself and rolled over, and I let out a huge breath. Once I was a foot away from him, I quickly stood up and walked away. I let out a quick prayer to Hypnos that Percy would remain asleep long enough for me to get back.

I walked over to another secluded corner in the room and knelt next to Bethany.

Bethany heard me walk up and looked up from her knees, her eyes still slightly red.

"Everything is going to be fine, Bethany," I said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"How do you know?" she asked quietly.

I tossed her a knife and she caught it, looking surprised.

"Because we're going to get Nate back," I said.

"What?" She looked stunned.

I stood up. "Are you coming or not?"

She reached for my hand and I pulled her up. "Let's go."

When we left the prison, no one even gave us a second glance. I guess everyone was just expecting us to do something about everything that was going on.

"Why isn't Percy coming with us?" Bethany suddenly asked. We were standing outside the door, and her question stopped me from walking.

"Because he doesn't know I've left," I replied.

"He's not going to be happy when he finds out," Bethany warned.

"There are a lot of things that happen that don't make him happy," I said. "He won't stay mad for long. I'm his girlfriend he hasn't seen for six months. He won't hold any grudges."

"I hope so," Bethany muttered. "So what first?"

"First," I said, "We rescue Frank."

"But I thought we were getting Nate?"

"Frank'll help us get Nate. Guards are still trying to find us for blowing up the shop, so they won't be down here. They'll be searching up above," I said. "Plus, I have a strong feeling that Frank is down here. Once we get him, he can go all animal-commando and bust Nate out."

"You make it sound so easy." Bethany smirked. "Unfortunately, I was never told where Frank was kept. I guess Octavian wanted to have very little people with the information." Bethany sighed angrily. "If Nate were here, he would've known. He was in Octavian's inside circle."

"Was he?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. "I'm glad he's on our side then."

"Me, too," Bethany said. "So, right or left?"

"Right is the exit to the manhole, and I didn't see any other doors, so left it is."

Bethany twirled the knife in her fingers before she set off down the tunnel, and I followed right behind her.

We didn't say much to each other. The only time we spoke was when we found a bolted door. We would peek inside and say if it was empty or not.

I walked over to another door and looked inside. A hand flew to my mouth. "Oh, gods."

"What?" Bethany asked. "What is it?"

The door was still unlocked, and I swung it open and went inside.

It was my prison cell.

This was where it all happened.

I could still see some dried blood on the ground where my forehead had bled. There were scuff marks on the ground where Percy had fought Octavian out of anger. The cork from the vial where the Lethe was kept was still lying on the floor.

I bent over and picked it up, not sure if I was angry, ready to cry, or just thankful that Hypnos had returned my memories.

"What is that?" Bethany asked.

I thought of how Percy had forced the Lethe into my mouth and broke my heart. I remembered the pain and agony of being betrayed. Even if it wasn't true, it still hurt, and I knew I wouldn't be the same again.

A sharp pain shot through my palm, and I realized that I was clutching the cork so hard my fingernails had bitten into my skin.

"It's nothing," I said. I dropped the cork and it bounced into the corner. I hoped I would never see this place again. "Let's get out of here."

Bethany still looked confused, but she followed me out. I didn't look back at the horrible door as it banged shut, and we walked the rest of the way in silence.

Five minutes later, the silence was broken again. "Is Percy alright?" Bethany suddenly asked.

"Yeah, why wouldn't he be?" I asked slowly.

"I saw him freak out earlier," Bethany replied. "It looked like he was going to throw up."

"Oh," I said. I walked over to another door and looked inside. It was empty. "It was just a bad dream."

Bethany frowned. "I had one too."

I tried to look aloof, but I had a feeling that I already knew what it was about. "What happened?"

"It was so strange. There was this _pithos_ standing in the middle of a field. I felt like I had to open it, and there was whispering coming from inside. It kept saying, 'free me'. I was so scared, but then I suddenly understood why I had to open it. When I did—" Bethany suddenly froze. "What was that?"

My ears perked up, and I heard faint moans coming down a side corridor.

"I hear it too," I said. "Let's go check it out."

I pulled out my knife and Bethany did the same. We kept close to the side of the wall until we came across a door made of solid metal. The groans were coming from the inside. There was a small peephole bolted from the outside, and I slid open the lock.

The moans abruptly stopped. "Who's there?" it asked in a shaky voice.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Wouldn't you know if you're the one who put me in here?" the voice snapped, gaining strength.

"Who are you?" Bethany repeated.

There was a pause. "Frank."

"Thank the gods," Bethany muttered. She opened the peephole and peered inside. "Frank, we're here to bust you out."

"Does this feel a bit too easy to you?" I asked Bethany. "I feel like there should at least be a guard here."

"I'm glad that it is easy for once," Bethany said. "I'm tired of having to fight our way in."

"Bethany?" I heard a rattle of chains, and I could tell that Frank stood up.

"It's me," she said. "Hand me the keys, Annabeth."

I took the keys off of my belt and Bethany shoved each one inside the lock until it opened. She rushed inside and started unlocking Frank's shackles. I stood in the doorway waiting for them to leave.

"Who's that?" Frank asked Bethany, gesturing to me.

"I'm Annabeth," I said, walking forward and shaking his hand.

His eyes widened. "You're Percy's girlfriend."

"He talked about me?" I asked, trying to ignore the pleased blush that had formed on my cheeks.

"You were the only thing he remembered," Frank said. "He talked about you a lot."

Bethany saw my face and smirked behind Frank's back.

"Anyway," I said, quickly changing the subject. "Why didn't you escape?"

Frank shrugged. "I knew you guys would come get me. Once I helped you and Percy escape, I wanted to keep it on the down low. If I escaped again, I would've gotten killed." He looked around. "Speaking of Percy, where is he?"

Bethany and I exchanged glances. "He kind of doesn't know we're here," Bethany said.

"We left while he was sleeping. If we're lucky, we can sneak back in before he wakes up," I said.

"Is Hazel okay?" Frank asked.

"She's fine," Bethany replied. "They all are. We've set up a base, and that's where everyone is."

"How come I have a feeling we're not going back yet?" Frank muttered.

"We need your help," I said. "One of us has been captured by Octavian, and we're going to get him back."

"Oh," Frank said. "Then can we go back?"

"Let's just get out of here," I said, shifting on my feet. "I really don't like this place."

The three of us left the cell and closed the door behind us. Bethany locked it for good measure, just in case someone came by to check, and we quickly left Frank's prison behind.

"So who are we rescuing, anyway?" Frank asked.

"Nate, son of Apollo," I answered.

Frank stopped walking. "We're rescuing _him?_"

"Is that a problem?" Bethany demanded.

"Well, yeah," Frank admitted, looking slightly embarrassed. "He's the one who put me in here."

"He's on our side now," Bethany said firmly. "Most of the people on Octavian's side are there because they don't want to get thrown in jail. He's part of the resistance."

Frank opened his mouth to retort and I cut him off. "Do you have any idea where he might be held?" I interrupted quickly.

"I think I do," Bethany said. "Octavian—" She was suddenly cut off with a squeak.

Whipping around, I saw Frank with a sword at his neck and Bethany with a knife at her back.

"Hello," Octavian smirked.

**I hope I'll be able to "see" you guys soon! I want to keep writing this, and I will. THIS STORY SHALL NOT BE CANCELLED. Questions still haven't been answered and the group hasn't left for Rome!**

**Also, just a little side note, I have a Tumblr! It's my fanfiction username: littlebitclever . tumblr .com. If you want to visit it or give me a follow, that would be splendiferous!**

**Later.**

**OKAY BYE.**

**P.S. Thank you for all of the book recommendations. Now I have a lot to read!**


	40. Chapter 39: Independent

**Let it commence.**

Annabeth

"It appears we have run into each other by chance," Octavian said. He pulled out a knife and held it loosely at his side. Bethany and Frank were both held against two guards with threatening swords and daggers pressed against their necks. However, I wasn't being held at knifepoint.

Taking the advantage, I whipped out my knife and pointed it under Octavian's chin.

He just started to laugh. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Anger surged through me. "And why not?" I asked, pressing the knife a little harder against his throat.

"Because any move against me will send your two friends to the Underworld, and the rest of your group won't last very long either," Octavian threatened. He lifted up his finger and gently lowered the knife away from his neck.

"What do you want, Octavian?" I demanded, not putting away my dagger.

"That little stunt you pulled up there was very clever," Octavian said, casually picking at his fingernails. "I'm afraid I won't disclose the location of Nate, if that's what you're looking for."

I didn't say anything. I just stared at him, hoping that he would waver.

He didn't.

"Now if you'll just tell me why you're down here, we'll part ways and you're lives will be spared."

My mind was racing. Bethany looked relatively calm with a sword against her neck, but Frank looked terrified. I tried to send a message to both of them with my eyes, but they didn't seem receptive.

I suddenly realized something. Octavian was asking why we were down here. That meant he had no idea that we were using the cells as a base. Unless he was bluffing.

"We were obviously getting Frank," I said, looking at him like he was stupid.

Octavian looked slightly baffled, and then turned around and saw Frank standing behind him. Frank gave a tiny wave.

"Yes, of course," Octavian muttered to himself. "What else?"

I rolled my eyes, trying to irritate him as much as possible, and praying to any god that was listening that this would distract him. "Well, we're heading towards the exit. We're going to get Nate. Duh."

Octavian started to look annoyed. "Yes, well—"

I tried to lay it on as thick as possible. "You'd think that the _augur_ of Camp Jupiter would know the intentions of everyone inside the camp. I mean, it is a position of prophecy. Unless there's nothing really to it?"

Octavian looked furious. "How dare—!"

"So I guess this means we part ways and end up as unlikely friends," I said, sheathing my knife. "Thanks for the talk."

Octavian mouth was open like a fish, but he managed to regain his composure. "I think you're forgetting one small thing," he blurted out.

"Oh, you're right," I said, pulling out my knife again. "This is the part where I send your scrawny butt back to that disgusting hole you came from. Do you want the easy way or the hard way?"

Octavian's face slowly turned from red to purple. "Chase, I am the one leading this conver—!"

"Looks like it's the hard way," I said. Praying that at least Bethany understood what I wanted, I screamed "NOW!"

Bethany sprang into action. She elbowed her captor in the gut, and his sword clattered to the ground. She grabbed his wrist and judo-threw him over her shoulder and slammed him next to his sword. Octavian looked so scared that all I did was slam my knife over his head and he crumpled to the ground like a rag doll on top of Bethany's soldier.

Meanwhile, Frank and turned into a python and was slowly twisting around his captor. The poor Roman was so terrified that he dropped his sword and practically fainted in Frank's scaly grip.

"That's good, Frank," I said casually, sheathing my knife. "I think you've scared him for a lifetime."

Frank released his suffocating hold and turned back into himself. I helped him get to his feet, and he shuddered.

"I'm never doing that again," Frank grimaced. "That felt disgusting."

"Ah ah," Bethany suddenly said. She picked up the soldier's sword from the ground and pointed it at me. "Make another move and I'll run you through."

"Bethany, what the—?" I asked, my hand automatically on the hilt of my knife.

"Not you," she said. "Him." She gestured with the sword to someone behind my back.

I turned around and saw Frank's guard pointing a knife at my neck. Realizing he was caught, he dropped the knife and raised his hands in the air.

"That's what I thought," Bethany said. She casually walked over to him and smacked him over the head with her sword. He fell to the ground on top of Octavian.

Frank walked over to the dog pile of the two soldiers and Octavian. He poked Octavian with his foot, but he didn't move. "What are we going to do with them?"

"I know what to do," I said.

* * *

A few minutes later, the unconscious Octavian and his two guards were shackled to the walls of my very prison. It was rather satisfying to see Octavian as the same position as how I used to be. The stain of blood was even directly in front of him, so he could stare at it as long as he wanted as a reminder for what he'd done.

Once the door was locked and the key thrown away, I turned to Bethany and Frank.

"Now that that's out of the way," I said matter-of-factly, "what were you saying earlier, Bethany?"

"I think I know where Nate is being held," Bethany said. "Octavian had a special prison built for the more…rebellious of his prisoners. It's by the Senate building, and will probably be crawling with guards."

"Are you sure we can't go back and get Percy?" Frank asked.

"We'll do better with a smaller number," I said. "Besides, he needs his sleep. He'll kill himself if he works too hard."

"He'll be furious when he finds out," Bethany reminded me.

"I'll cross that bridge when I get there," I replied. "Lead the way."

Bethany gave me a look, and then started walking down the tunnel. Frank followed behind, giving me a look that was mixed with pity and nervousness.

I walked further back, swallowed in my thoughts. I knew that I was acting rashly, and I didn't know why, either. Maybe it was because I wanted to help Bethany. Maybe it was because I needed to prove to myself that I was still independent, and that even though Percy was gone for so long, I didn't need a relationship to make me stronger and show that I didn't completely rely on it.

Either way, I knew that there would be a hurricane waiting for me when I got back. Most likely, a literal one.

Sighing, I quickened my pace to catch up with Bethany and Frank.

We silently walked down the tunnels and soon made it to the secret entrance. Once we made it out of the tunnels through the manhole, we sat in the hidden clearing and started making a plan.

"Frank will have to remain inconspicuous. If he gets spotted, we're in trouble since he's supposed to be locked up right now," I said, looking at him apologetically. "You'll probably have to do that by turning into a small animal."

He nodded. "I know."

"I can use my invisibility cap to scout ahead and check for guards," I offered.

"I might have to do that," Bethany said. "I'm the one that knows where we're supposed to go, and I can silently take out any guards."

I bit my lip. "I guess that works. I'll just have to be on high alert just in case anyone sneaks up on us."

Bethany nodded, and I held out my Yankees hat to her. She took it respectfully and slipped it in her pocket. "I'll put it on when I need it."

I looked at her pocket for a second longer before turning to Frank. "Now would be a good time to change. We're ready to go."

Frank started to shrink, and black feathers began to sprout out of his skin. His feet turned into small talons, and his arms extended into wings. Soon, in his place was a crow.

"Good choice," I said. "That'll blend in really well. Keep a few yards behind us, and fly from building to tree."

"Just try to look as birdish as possible," Bethany cut in. "And let out a caw if there are guards coming up behind us."

Frank bobbed his head in understanding and flew up to the nearest tree.

"Ready to get Nate?" I asked Bethany.

"As I'll ever be."

I peeked over the bushes and saw that the coast was clear. Apparently, word hadn't been spread that Octavian was currently knocked out cold in a locked up cell.

Good.

"Then let's go."

Bethany vaulted over the bushes and I followed a few paces behind her. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of black as Frank began to follow us from the air.

From the brief view I got of Camp Jupiter that I got from the _Argo II_, I knew that the Senate House was near the lake over the hidden prison. That gave me a bit of confidence that I didn't have to go that far without my hat. But it also reminded me that the amount of guards from the lake to the Senate would be enormous.

I hoped that some of the guards were secretly on our side. I was positive that not everyone, no matter how much they hated Greeks, wanted to serve under Octavian.

The two of us started to walk down a cobblestone road, homage to the original Roman roads. Trees lined the path, and I could see the looming Senate house in the distance.

I tried to keep a safe distance from the middle of the path, just in case I needed to dive behind a tree at a moments notice.

I soon was consumed in my thoughts as I stared at my feet. I knew that since Percy disappeared, he had changed, and so had I. I knew that the Roman camp had done something to him. He seemed more like a worn soldier than a sixteen year old guy. It made me slightly sad, and maybe a bit of contempt at the Romans. Why had they changed my fun-loving, stupid, Seaweed Brain of a boyfriend?

There wasn't anything I could do about it now, and I actually had a feeling that this would happen at sometime.

A sharp _caw!_ broke through the silence. I jerked my head up, instantly on edge. I saw Bethany ripple out of view as she threw my Yankees hat on her head.

I whipped around and saw three Roman guards walk toward me. They were talking to each other, so I still had time to jump behind a tree.

I pressed my back against the bark, my knife already in my hand. I tried to keep my breathing quiet as I heard the guards approach. I really didn't want to attack. I knew that if I did, the alarm would sound and we would get caught. I had to rely on stealth.

I listened for the guards, but nothing came. I forced myself to peek around the tree to see where they were.

The guards were walking back in the direction they had come. They weren't talking, and they stared straight ahead.

I had a feeling that they had turned a blind eye. They knew that I was behind the tree, and they ignored me and turned the other direction.

I sent a silent prayer of thanks up to Olympus, and was about to walk around the tree when Bethany scared me out of my mind when she suddenly appeared at my side.

"Gods, don't do that!" I gasped. "Give me some sort of warning first."

"What? Would you rather I tap you on the shoulder, or whisper in your ear?" she asked sarcastically.

"Maybe you should just tackle me to the ground instead," I retorted.

She smirked. "Let's go."

We quickly entered the Forum, hugging the walls and trying hard to look as inconspicuous as possible.

I couldn't help but feel a bit of jealousy towards Frank. He had it so easy.

Bethany stopped, holding up her hand. "We're here."

I stared up at the Senate building. The marble Roman columns held up a massive tiled ceiling, and the open building had no one in it.

"What gives?" I asked, gesturing towards the empty building.

"I don't know," Bethany said slowly, narrowing her eyes. "But I don't like it."

"Let's take advantage of it and get Nate quickly," I said, thinking quickly. "We'll never know when they'll come back."

Bethany nodded, pulling out her sword and twirling it in her hand. She gave one last look around, and then ran toward the massive building. She slipped between the columns and ran into a secluded corner of the building. A small bronze lever was placed in the wall, and she pulled it, revealing a small door that came up to my knees.

"I'm guessing he's in there?" I asked, staring at the tiny entrance.

"Your guess is as good as mine."

Frank fluttered down next to me and slowly turned back into his regular self. "Being a bird is so obnoxious," he complained. "The only thing I could think about were sticks for a nest and worms."

"We've got bigger problems," Bethany replied. "We think Nate's in there." She pointed at the door.

"And we need to hurry," I said. "Doesn't it seem a little suspicious that there aren't any guards here?"

Bethany brushed this off. "There's never any guards here. This prison is kept a secret. If there were, it would raise suspicions."

Frank crouched down and started to crawl through the small doorway.

"Don't worry," Frank called back, his voice muffled. "It gets bigger."

As soon as he got out of the way, Bethany crawled in after him, and I went in last. As soon as I was completely through the door, it swung shut behind me with a quiet _thud_.

Bethany and Frank were already ahead of me by several feet.

"How many cells are down here?" I asked.

"I have no idea," Bethany replied. "I've never been down here. It'll be like a giant game of hide-and-seek."

I sighed. "Ready or not, here we come."

**Yo!**

**Yes, I know it's been three months. Let me just say that when I got back from New York in March, my life exploded in front of me. Grades were dying, finals were approaching, and college crap loomed in front of me.**

**But never fear! All of it is over! Graduation was last week, and now I have the entire summer before college :)**

**I would have updated right after graduation (from HIGH SCHOOL) but mi familia is currently in Hawaii for two weeks. I have wifi at the hotel :)**

**Also, for graduation I was given my own laptop, so that will give me more time to update!***

**Anyway, thank you guys for sticking with me. It really means a lot.**

**Also, 370 reviews! Ya'll are the bomb!**

**See you in the next chapter, internet BFFs!**

**~littlebitclever**

***Maybe. This time might be used to melt on Tumblr instead. What can I say? It's addicting.**


	41. Chapter 40: Fear

**The fortieth chapter can now begin!**

**Let it commence.**

Annabeth

The tunnel opened up in front of me, giving enough room to stand up. The tunnel was nicer than the ones located in the sewers. It was lined with torches, which cast flickering shadows that danced on the walls.

"So the reason why we're down here is because we _think_ Nate's locked up here, and if he is, we don't know exactly where?" Frank asked, looking around.

"In a nutshell," I said. "Pick a direction."

Bethany swiveled around and pointed to a side tunnel on the left. "There."

Frank started walking, but I stopped him. I was starting to feel nervous. I had no idea how big this prison could be, and I really didn't need another reminder that I had spent a long time lost in the Labyrinth.

"Wait," I said. "We could get lost down here. Bethany, hand me your sword."

She looked confused, but did. I held the sword loosely at my side, letting the tip touch the ground. As I started to walk forward, the sword traced a line in the soft dirt.

"Brilliant," Bethany said. "Now we'll know where we've been."

"Just be sure not to step on it," Frank pointed out.

With that advice, I started to walk down the tunnel Bethany had seen. The three of us walked by barred doors, but all of them were empty. The tunnel soon came to another fork, and we took the right side. The corridors were like a maze, and we randomly chose which direction we went down. Every time, there were no prisoners in any of the cells.

After a few minutes, we came to the same conclusion: the hidden prison was deserted.

"He has to be down here!" Bethany exclaimed suddenly. We had just reached another dead end, and all of our tempers were running thin.

"We might just have to look somewhere else," I said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"But what if he's...?" Bethany let the thought hang in the air.

"No," Frank said. "Don't think that. Octavian would keep him alive. Nate has information that Octavian could use."

"I think I saw a tunnel down there that we hadn't gone down," I said. "We should check that before we give up."

Bethany nodded and walked quickly down the tunnel. Frank and I exchanged a look before we followed.

I found Bethany at the entrance, and I could immediately tell that this wasn't here before. The soft ground we had been walking on turned into a packed dirt. The cut stone of the prison morphed into the craggy gray walls of a cave. A musty draft blew down the passageway, causing the hairs to lift up on my arms, and I immediately got a sick feeling in my stomach. Something about this wasn't...natural.

"I don't like this," Frank said, voicing the exact thing I was thinking.

"We have to go down," Bethany insisted. "Nate could be down there."

She then did a stupid thing: she ran inside.

"Bethany! I don't think that's advis-" I started. She ignored me and disappeared in the darkness. "Able," I muttered.

"Does that mean we have to go after her?" Frank asked nervously.

"Yes, I'm afraid it does," I groaned. "Let's go get her. Who knows what's down there?"

"That's why I don't want to go down there," Frank said quietly as we walked.

I jogged after Bethany, calling her name. My knife was held tightly in my hand. Like I said, I didn't know what was down here.

"Annabeth!" Frank suddenly yelped.

A sudden roar broke the sound of our footsteps. Without a second glance, I whirled around and threw my knife as hard as I could. A cry of pain told me that I'd hit my mark.

I ran to the monster as it writhed on the ground. Frank stabbed it in the stomach and it disintegrated into dust before I could see what it was.

"What was _that_?" Frank gasped.

"I have no idea," I said, picking up my knife from the ground. "But I can almost guarantee there'll be more of them."

I frowned at the remains. "What I'm wondering is why there are monsters in a Roman prison." I looked at Frank, but he shrugged.

"Don't ask me," he said. "I wasn't normally filled in on what was happening at camp."

"Let's just find Bethany," I said, trying to hide my disappointment. "And keep your eyes open for more of those...things."

We hurried down the cave tunnel, keeping a sharp eye for the monsters and for any sign of Bethany.

After a few seconds, I managed to find Bethany. Unfortunately, I found her by tripping over her.

I broke my fall by smoothly somersaulting out of it. Frank was not so lucky. He tripped over her too, but landed flat on his face. Bethany moaned in pain.

"Sorry," Frank wheezed.

"What happened?" I asked, pulling Bethany to her feet.

"I was attacked from behind," Bethany said, gingerly touching her head. She winced, pulling her hand back to show a bit of blood.

"We can always go back," I offered. "Frank and I ran into something nasty. It was probably the thing that attacked you."

"No," Bethany said firmly. "We're finding Nate."

I sighed, but couldn't help but feel appreciation for her determination. I was exactly the same way when Percy went missing. I never stopped looking until I was positive he was in California. I had a feeling that Bethany would do the same.

"This time we're sticking together," Frank said. "I don't want to run into another monster trying to find you again."

Bethany nodded, looking a bit sheepish.

The three of us started down the passage again. Soon, the tunnel started to have a different feel to it. Before, it felt musty and humid, but now the feeling that was in the draft was getting stronger. It felt almost evil.

The grip that I had on my knife grew tighter until it felt like my knuckles were white. The hairs on my arms stood up on end, as well as the ones on the back of my neck. Even the normal friendly flickering of the torches seemed cold. I couldn't help but shudder.

The tunnel soon hit a sharp corner, and all three of us stopped before we rounded it.

"If there is anything over there that is a threat, take it down," Bethany instructed. She looked determined, and I gave back her sword that I'd been holding.

"You need it more than I do," I said.

I then turned to Frank. "You stay behind. We'll give a signal if you need to bail us out as an elephant or something."

Frank nodded, looking relieved he didn't have to do hand-to-hand combat.

"On my mark," Bethany said, hefting the sword. I twirled my dagger in response.

She gave me a wink and a small smile, and then dove around the corner.

I don't know what was more shocking: that there was a massive door inlaid into the craggy wall, or that the two sentries guarding the door looked just as surprised as I was.

Bethany was on them in a second, me a step behind her.

She started to take down the first guard, which left me with the second monster. I couldn't see its face. The torches on the walls cast a dark shadow on the top half of its body, and the shadows seemed to bend with its movements so it was always hidden in the dark.

I did what I had done with the first monster I encountered, throwing my knife with such force that as it embedded itself in the monsters forehead, the monster actually staggered backwards.

I quickly ran forward and kicked it in the chest so it fell backwards, hissing. As it fell, it yanked my dagger out of its head with a squelching noise, and then threw it at me. I was just able to dive out of the way.

Now I was weaponless.

The monster got to its feet, and then the unthinkable happened.

The earth lifted around it, as if it was going to swallow the monster whole. Yet, when the ground fell away, the wound in its forehead was completely gone.

I blinked, stunned. The only other time that I'd seen this was when Percy was fighting Antaeus in the Labyrinth.

The monster started to advance toward me, and I knew I needed help.

"Uh, Frank? Now would be a good time!" I yelled.

A bear suddenly came charging around the corner, bowling into the monster that was advancing on me. With a mouthful of fur, the monster got knocked over a second time. Frank was easily able to tear the monster into dust with his teeth and claws. Yet, every time he managed to, the yellow dust would swirl together and start to reform.

I ran over and began to scatter the dust until it was unable to merge together again. Frank gave the dust a snort for good measure.

I turned to see Bethany successfully lob the head off of her monster and spread the dust around so it also couldn't get together again.

Frank slowly morphed back into himself.

"That was exciting," he said casually.

"Are we ready to see what's behind door number one?" Bethany asked.

"Let's see what our prize is," I replied. I walked forward and placed a hand on the door. It easily swung open.

The three of us walked in, taking in the surroundings. There wasn't much. The walls were the same craggy stone lined with torches. All it really was was an empty cavern, except for one thing.

Nate was in the middle of the room.

He was up to his shoulders in the hard dirt. His face was disgusting, covered in grime and dried blood. His hair was matted and clinging to his forehead with sweat. He was breathing hard, as if the dirt was pressed up so hard against his chest that he couldn't breathe.

"Nate!" Bethany exclaimed. She rushed forward, looking desperately to try and find a way to pull him out.

"Beth," Nate said, looking relieved. "You found me."

"Of course I found you, you idiot," Bethany said. "How do we get you out of here?"

"You can't."

"What?" Bethany said.

_I wouldn't jump to such conclusions, demigod._

I jumped about a foot in the air. The three of us pulled out our weapons, trying to find the source of the voice. It sounded like it was coming from inside my head.

Nate looked absolutely terrified. His eyes were wide and his breathing turned rapid.

The ground in front of us began to bubble and boil until a woman's sleeping face appeared. My fingernails bit into my palm as I squeezed my knife.

_I'm pleased that you were able to find your friend _she murmured.

Bethany looked at me, fear in her eyes.

"Who is this?" she asked.

I hesitated before answering, and a small smile curled on the woman's lips.

_My dear, you've never heard of me? In my Roman counterpart I am Terra, but most people know me as Gaea, mother of the giants. And now that you're here, the fun can now begin._

**Well, wasn't that fun? This place that our three heroes have found seems rather familiar, no?**

**Anyways, sorry if the chapter seems rushed, OOC, or whatever. I'm leaving Hawaii today, so I wanted to get this chapter out before I leave the hotel so I haven't really proofread the chapter or anything. Wifi at the airport and on the plane is expensive! **

**Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed it! :)**

**I'll see you all soon!**

**OKAY BYE.**

**~littlebitclever**


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